Next Generation: Anna
by TheImmortalWeapon
Summary: Name: Anna-Grace Parker/Allies: White Tiger/Parents: Peter & Ava Parker/Current Status: Bored! This was going to be another get together with Mom & Dad's teammates. But things were different. Danny's here. "King Daniel" apparently, and his kids. I thought it was going to be boring. But then I met him; Kai Rand. Now he's gone. But something tells me finding him is only the start.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and ideas.**

 **A/N: Here it is! I hope you guys all enjoy Anna! New POV for me so I haven't worked on it much, but her character is currently in development. More good stuff to come from her! I will be posting some One-Shots I have written on Fan Fiction maybe tomorrow. I plan to have them all together in one story. So please keep a look out for that. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

* * *

We were the first ones to get to the "living room" part of the Tricarrier. I had been here before.

"When is everyone else going to show up?" I whine a little bit. This was going to be boring. It wasn't even my idea to come, I would've stayed at home if I had a choice and I would have rather been working on fixing up my computer right now.

"Luke should be here soon. Sam is still moving into his new house with his family. And I don't know when Danny and Aiko will get here. Danny told me there would be a lot to do with him leaving K'un-Lun, even if only for a week." Dad explains. "They don't have the best relations with our world, but he promised to come."

"K'un-Lun," I mutter thinking about the amulet. Mom and I shared it; she was teaching me to use it. She likely had it on her now.

"What Anna?" Mom asks.

"Isn't it even slightly funny I've never met Danny or Aiko?" I question. "How do you even know as much as you do about K'un-Lun?"

"Anna, I have been to K'un-Lun. And you need to be polite. He may not like you calling him that…" Dad warns.

"Because he is an adult and a King of another dimension," I mutter to finish for my Dad.

This is just going to be like every holiday. We're all just going to get together and talk, about just about the most boring things. I had met Danielle and Drake before. We saw each other the most out of the team. Luke still lived in New York.

Sam had moved into outer space. So we saw his family every now and then. Piper his daughter was quiet and reserved most of the time. They were final moving to New York. They had been living on earth for a while but out of the country. Piper had trouble with her powers sometimes and they would have to move because people would try to hunt her.

Danny is a king who lived in a different dimension and Aiko was his childhood friend. They were both offered spots on the team Danny joined right away and Aiko a year later.

That's all I really know about them, other than the fact Mom and Dad went to K'un-Lun when I was a baby and I had to stay here.

I walk over to the couches and slump down.

First Luke and Jessica showed up with their kids; Danielle and Drake. Danielle supposedly named after Danny.

Sam and his wife Rina were next with their daughter. So as normal we all sat around on the couches while the adults talked.

It was the normal chit-chat.

How's life? How's training? What's new? Any good villains?

It was boring. Piper was excited to meet the Rand kid or kids. She is from a different planet and was excited to meet people like her in the sense as they weren't earthly. That's what she calls us; "Earthly."

Danielle also wanted to meet Danny because she was named after him.

While we waited Piper showed us some powers she had copied recently. When she 'copies' someone's powers she can still use them for a few days after copping them.

So she was playing with fire and ice.

That's when they finally showed up.

The adults were having a blast when Danny and his family showed up. I guessed it was him anyway.

He walked in out of one of the corridors with an Asian looking woman and a boy about my age. And a very American looking 16-year-old girl with shocking red hair. He himself was a tall and pale blond haired man.

I was lying on the couch and hardly looked over at them while everyone else seemed excited.

The boy, I noticed, had crutches. Most of his face was hidden by this black hair.

We stayed where we were for a while letting the adults have their go first at saying hello; they were the ones that had missed their friends. I could meet them later.

The boy had walked away from I guess his Mom. He looked more like the woman. Unless, I think Mom and Dad said they were married…

"Um, Hello," he says quietly scaring me out of my skin I had drifted off into a deep thought.

We all looked him over. He was skinny and his hair was silky and hung in his face some. But his accent was really weird. It sounded very heavy and very, very strange.

"Hi!" Piper says exactly, she can be hyper. "I'm Piper!"

The boy looks at her very strangely. "Um, I'm Kai," he replied, his voice soft.

"Cool," I say from my couch. He was standing behind the couch. The amulet was in my lap and I was playing with it in my fingers.

Danielle looked excited but tried to keep her cool. "So you're Iron Fist's kid?"

"Yes," Kai replied quietly. Not much of a talker.

"Does that also make you an Iron Fist?" Drake asked.

"Um, no that's not something that is passed down genetically. It is something that is earned." He explains.

"Cool," I say again. Watching him, he is kind of cute. And the accent was also cute. I blushed. If he knew what I was thinking, I would hurt him. I sit up and pat the couch next to me. A cute prince from a different dimension, I can allow myself to have a crunch on him. He won't be here for long. His parents will whisk him back home in a week, just a teenage crunch.

He blushes; his whole face turns a hot shade of pink. He looks embarrassed. But why?

"I'm actually alright, right here." He smiles weakly. What's bothering him? "I'm used to crutches."

I try to smile back at him relaxed. "Sit," I command him, naturally. "I busted my knee a while back I know those things hurt." I point to the crutches.

This just makes him turn pinker. I don't think he realizes this, though. He looks really uncomfortable and I think about saying something to him to try to make him feel better.

But, instead he takes a deep breath and slowly uses his crutches to come around the couch and sitting down next to me, he took the crutches and leaned on them carefully on the couch beside him.

That's when I think we all noticed it. Kai had looked away to see what his parents were doing, he also possibly didn't want to see us stare.

His left leg was missing pretty much like it was gone. His sorts were about knee length and it just hung there could faintly see an outline of what must have been his leg.

Piper, in human form, turns pale and covers her mouth.

Danielle and Drake are just as surprised.

Kai looks back to us. His face hot-pink.

"So, um," I clear my throat. "Kai, I'm Anna-Grace." I introduce myself. He smiles a little. "But I go by Anna."

"I'm Danielle." Danielle says, he points to Drake, "and this is my brother Drake."

Kai smiles, more comfortable and less pink, but he was cute when he was pink. "That's my sister over there." He points to the red head. "Her name is Hope."

"So," Piper asked. "Do you have any powers?"

Kai doesn't respond but instead closes his eyes and slows his breathing a little.

Then I get this funny feeling, we are getting a demonstration.

I can't help but wonder what he can do…

'Yes, I am a telepath.' His voice says calmly in my head. I jump a little terrified.

Of course, he is a telepath! Of course, I think that the one guys in the worlds that can read my mind is cute!

He opens his eyes and pulled up his one leg so he is sitting sort of cross-crossed.

Everyone looks a little shocked.

Telepathy is one crazy superpower to have, and we don't really know what level he is. He could be a one trick person or many.

"That is awesome!" I say quickly trying to act natural. It doesn't seem to work. My fingers turn into sharp claws as I hold my hand close to his neck. "But seriously! Stay out of my head!"

"I will," he promises, relaxed.

"Uh huh," I mutter.

"Hey, kids!" Dad calls over to us. "We are going to the Court to spar are you guys coming?"

Everyone agrees and runs out. The adults follow. I stand up and offer Kai his crutches.

He blushes. "Thank you, Anna." He smiles at me.

"Hey, no problem," I reply as we walk behind everyone else.

We walk quietly for a few minutes. "So um, do you mind if I ask you a sort of personal question?" I ask, awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck.

Kai looks to me; he seems uncertain but looks ahead again and answers. "You may ask, I may not reply." He looks forward, his gaze was not wandering.

"Ok, and you don't have to if you don't want to." I make myself clear first. "How long have you been like this? You know um…"

"Handicapped?" He finishes for me. Was that mind reading?

Nah... he is probably just used to it.

"Four years now," he replies.

I feel a tear in my chest. "Um, what happened?"

"That is personal," he says sternly looking at me. "What about you," his darkness he had in his voice lifting. "What powers do you have?"

"Can't you just know being telepathic?" I ask.

"I shouldn't rely on my powers." He shrugs. "And I want to get to know what you think of yourself, not the facts, but your opinion."

It takes a minute to sink in. "Oh, so we are playing this game?" I tease him, nudging his arm. "The White Tiger Amulet. My Mom and I share it. I also have my Dad's strength, warning since, and I can stick to walls a little." I show him the amulet. "My turn, how powerful of a telepath are you?"

"I am advanced, but no master," he explains. As we reach the court and we walk over to a bench. I sit down and motion for him to follow and he does.

"That doesn't really answer; name some things you can do."

Kai thinks for a moment. "Ming reading, I can speak to others telepathically, I can create mental images, download and also process information quickly, and I can control people using their brains." He lists. "That is to name a few."

"So you've had some training in how to use your powers?" I ask him.

"Some." He replies with a smirk, "and I also have low-grade telekinesis."

I notice suddenly he seemed to have gotten shorter while he was talking. I look down to see I was a few inches above the bench, floating. I squeal.

"Put me down!" I snap at him and he does.

He seems relaxed and pleased.

"I think we will get along just fine," I tell him with a smile.

"We might," he replies and smirks. But still looks to be thinking.

Maybe he is always like that. Thinking.

I look down to his missing leg. What happened to him? I get he might not want to tell me, I can understand, it really is a personal thing for him I can imagine.

But, I still want to know.

* * *

That night I was dreaming about Kai, he and his family were staying on the Tricarrier. I had met his parents briefly; they were both kind and very sweet.

I couldn't imagine the psycho who would do that to him. He was so sweet and kind.

And he was patient and cute…

And he was a telepath…

I am not sure what I expected him to be like, but I like him.

He is wonderful.

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and ideas.**

 **A/N: So wasn't planning to update this weekend but since I missed last weekend and have some free time I figured 'Why not?' So here is the next Chapter of Next Gen: Anna! My other stories will update when possible.**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218- Well I got some good news! I have already started to write one of the ideas that you have suggested to me.**

 **It is finally here! And here is chapter 2! I am glad you already like her. I think we are going to go a little fast forward in a bit while Kai is being held captive. And skip to this main plot line, but before we go forward we must go back.**

 **Peter's thought on Danny was likely just Anna needed to be respectful of his title. But I agree. Danny is very modest about being King and I have written some scene where he gets annoyed by people who just keep calling him "King Daniel." And things like that. That will show up in Neon.**

 **I think I will have the full team go to K'un-Lun is falling apart and in Neon they will not. Mostly because I have always wanted someone to write a fanfic where they all go. But it looks like I will have to write it myself. I have tried in the past but I just wasn't happy with where it went. That can still be considered in the air.**

 **The name Rina is actually short (and then made into an actual name) for Rhettersonmae. An alien name that I found on the internet and while writing this original draft and then search for it on my computer for at least 20 minutes so I could tell you what it was.**

 **I guess it is kind of interesting to look at Kai with a new set of eyes besides his own and his sister. His accent you could kid of image like a heavy Chinese accent and then kind of mixed with an All-Speak feel because that would be the native tongue of K'un-Lun (All-Speak).**

 **Something I think I am going to enjoy with Anna is her trying to smooth over Kai's differences. Weither it be his powers or his handicap. I mean it's not easy to just straight up treat him like a normal person, but you have to also be careful.**

 **I'd imagine Peter would have to step in with the sharing of the amulet and just take in and put in in a locked box. Or just take it and hide it when either start to lose their minds.**

 **Enjoy the Chapter.**

 **NyanWolf- I am glad Anna has her own voice. I know how that is when everyone is the same. You really just have to get into a characters head.**

 **Kai's crush was developed over time while Anna not so much… Thanks for all the compliments. I hope you like this chapter just as much!**

 **Whitefang24- Thank you. Enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

* * *

So my one week crush didn't go as planned.

A week after the Rand family left it happened.

I was walking down the SHIELD hallway where people lived. I was just walking to find something to do.

I wasn't watching where I was going and I crashed into someone.

We were both on the floor.

I looked up, rubbing my head to see Kai doing the same…

Kai?!

Here?!

"Um, hey, Kai," I say awkwardly as I get to my feet and help him back up. "I thought you left with your parents…"

"I did not. Hope and I are staying in New York for some time to train as our parents once did." Kai says quietly.

I blush. "So are you sharing a room with Hope?"

"No, I have my own apartment next door." He smiles at me.

"Um, ok. Well, where are you going?"

"To train," He says almost casually. I looked to what he was wearing he had loose fit sweat pants with the one leg cut short and a matching loose fit top.

"Train?" I ask him skeptically. Then I smack my hands over my mouth and blush madly as he glares at me. Those eyes, he was mad at me. I felt so bad.

"I didn't mean it like that!" I quickly try to recover. "I just… I didn't know… I mean…"

"I know, people here look at me like I am made of glass, people always do, they don't understand what it feels like. People in K'un-Lun do that until they get to know me. K'un-Lun is very different form this place." Kai says looking away from me, distantly.

"So um," I say thinking for a minute before I get a good idea. "Want to go see if Doc Connors has anything new to practice with, he likes making things for training and stuff like that. I think you would like him." My face must have shown my excitement because Kai looks hesitant.

"I don't know I am not a huge fan of technology…" He trails off.

"It'll be fun I promise." I smile at him reassuringly.

"If you say so," He says slowly. I could feel his uncertainty.

* * *

Kai was honestly shocked to find out that Doc Connors was like him; an amputee.

And then we got to train. We started out the newest models of LMDs slowly.

Connors held them back not knowing how good Kai was, even after I told him Kai had impressive skills.

But when Kai started to easily blow through them we kicked things up at the end we were both sweating but having a good time.

That was the start of us getting to know each other, I was excited. My literal prince was here and here to stay. This is going to get real exciting. I am so thrilled.

* * *

Mom was doing the dishes as I was sitting at the counter, working on my school work.

"So how was spending the day at the Triskelion?" Mom asks me.

I smiled to myself. "It was fine."

"Connors said you were hanging out with Kai today. How was that?"

I look up at her. "Kai's unique. I don't really know." I shrug.

"How so?" Mom asks.

"You've seen him right?" I ask at first. "How he is…"

"An amputee." Mom says seriously.

"Yah, and how people look at him differently. He, he's not what you would expect. When you look at him, or when you hear who he is… he's really special." I sigh.

"You like him." Mom smiles, "you really like him." She teases putting a plate in the dishwasher, she then leans on the counter to look at me.

"I do not." I lie to defend myself.

"Anna likes whom?" Dad asks walking into the kitchen.

"No one Dad." I lie. I do like Kai.

"Kaito." Mom says with a smile. she turns back to the dishwasher

"Kaito…" Dad trails off for a minute. "Kai?"

"Kaito?" I ask.

"That's his name. It's Japanese. He is from K'un-Lun." Mom says loading another dish into the dishwasher.

"Oh," is all I say.

"Wait, so hold on." Dad laughs. "You have a crush on Kai Rand? Danny's kid? The prince of K'un-Lun?"

"Peter, be nice." Mom snaps.

"Ava, come on. The kid is Danny's!"

"And what's so wrong about me having a crush on Kai?" I ask offended.

"Anna, Kai's from another world." Dad begins.

"So?" I ask.

"You didn't let me finish." Dad says calmly. "Kai was raised in a world where there is no dating. Couples are set up by parents and matchmakers, something like that. He may not get the whole crush thing. Plus, he is a prince, remember?"

"Are you done?" I ask, annoyed.

"Yes," Dad says walking away.

I look back down to my math homework. Was dad actually right? A prince from another world.

He was way out of my league. Way out of my league.

We could still hang out together.

"Oh, Anna, your school called with your test results." Mom says she walked up to the counter. "They want you to take a few more tests. But, maybe in a month or two, you can be moved to high school."

"Ok, I'll take the test. But, I don't know if I want to do it." I sigh. Coulson had been pushing me for an 'advance education' program in school. I wasn't sure about it when he first brought it up, and I am still not sure.

* * *

"So are you enrolled in school yet?" I ask Kai as we sit outside of an old-school ice cream shop. I had invited Kai to come hang out and get a feel for New York; he said yes!

I kind of bugged him after finding out he had spent all his free time in the Triskelion.

"Yes, I am." Kai says licking his come. I had gotten cookies and cream and he had gotten raspberry.

"Really? I haven't seen you at school." I say quickly.

"Coulson gave Hope and me a test to make sure we had learned enough to be in our proper levels, he called them grades. I made a perfect score on mine, so he gave me a few more tests. And he said I could be in this program for "advanced education." I didn't object, and he put in high school as a freshman." Kai explains.

I nearly drop my cone. "He tested you for that?!" I exclaim. "How in the world did you qualify for that? I thought K'un-Lun didn't have anything remotely modern?"

Kai looks embarrassed again. He takes a bite of his cone. His face is so pink! I really hope I haven't offended him in any way.

"After… what happened… I could not train and do things normally. Dad continued to spar with me, but he is the king. He didn't get much free time. So, a family friend would take me to this library in the Heart of the Heaven, the Immortal Weapon base pretty much. It posses all knowledge known to man. So, that's what I did with my life. I would study." He explains not looking at me.

"Why do you trust me?" I ask him.

"Sorry, what?" he asks looking at me I had just asked a stupid question.

"You heard me." I say simply.

"When I use my telepathy, I can feel a lot of things about people. I felt in general who you were. You're sweet and caring. And you honestly want to spend time with me. In K'un-Lun I only had my family and one friend, who is much older than me." He smiles. "And I guess the Monks all know and like me some. Some like to talk with me about my studies."

"Oh, well thanks, you're cool to hang out with." I punch his arm without thinking. I didn't hit him hard.

He looked startled and looks at me with big eyes.

Then he hits me back! He also punches my arm, pretty hard. Well, harder than you would think.

"You're strong!" I complain holding my arm. "Weren't you raised not to hit women?"

"In K'un-Lun, women with powers are allowed to train and fight, there for if a girl had powers I have no conflict with punching you in the arm." He explains. "Hope and my mom both have powers of their own."

"Oh, right!" I face palm. Mom used to teach me about K'un-Lun when I was learning how to use the amulet. She thought it was important I know about where the amulet was from.

"My turn to ask the questions," Kai says with a smirk. "How long have you been using the amulet?"

"Maybe four years." I reply. "How long have you had telepathy?"

"I was born with it. What do you like to do for fun?"

"Hang out. You?"

"Read and practice telepathy. Favorite food?"

"Um, I love grilled food and fish, and you like… what?"

"Rice," Kai says with a smile. "Just about anything mom cooks, that is when she does cook. Um, favorite animal?"

"Do you even need to ask? Tigers. You like dragons don't you?" I ask him, accusingly.

"Yes," he says with a guilty expression. "What do you like about me? As a person." He takes another bite, he doesn't seem to be suggesting anything.

"You're strong and smart. You don't let things get in your way. You listen. And you're trusting." I list. I have to stop myself before going on. "What do you like about me?" I ask him slowly.

He doesn't look at me as he answers. "You are yourself."

"I'm sorry?" I ask him confused.

He finishes his cone and wipes his hands on his shorts.

He places his crutches under his arms and shakily gets to his feet. "You head me, Anna. You are yourself."

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and ideas.**

 **A/N: Almost posted this without an author's note. Opps... Um... not much to say, Happy Holidays and enjoy!**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218 \- I guess you didn't get this update by the end of the week. Sorry. But it is extra long, this time, to make up for it. About 2200 words or more.**

 **I am glad Anna reminds you of Peter. I have always had some trouble writing him, despite him being the main character, mostly because of his fourth wall breaking and unique diction. I can write him from others eyes, but like at the end of the chapter where he appears I can only image him breaking the fourth wall and talking straight to the reader, I guess just a little harder for me.**

 **That's what I was thinking when I wrote the Conners scene.**

 **Sorry about Kanna, I will write some more Yue and Kai one-shots or something. I guess Peter and Ava are calm because Kai is a whole lot like Danny, who is a very... well... a good person. I guess they might see Danny inside of Kai.**

 **To be honest, I haven't gotten that far like in the Collection.**

 **I think the growth theme stays with me because like the reader I just watch the characters grow too. I just have to give them the basics of their looks and personality and they go from there on their own.**

 **Guest \- Here's the next chapter Enjoy!**

 **morgn \- If I understand what you are asking then here is the answer; Kai's story is complete. The One-Shots are kind of the side if that is what you meant. I hope that answers your question. If it doesn't Sorry about that, if you want to PM me go ahead. I hope that answers your question. Enjoy!**

 **NyanWolf \- Glad you enjoyed this chapter. They really are kids in their crazy future world. And I want to highlight that. I also loved writing the Conners scene, and I like his position in life. I guess Peter was just being careful, not wanting Anna to fall for Kai completely and then have her heart broken by the fact he may not understand what she is thinking or feeling. Alright, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

* * *

So a lot has happened since Kai came to New York.

First off, he and his sister were attacked by demons from their home dimension. Something like that, anyway. So they both landed beds in the Medical Wing with that stunk. And that's how Kai ended up paralyzed waist down. The pure damage that he took was bad.

And that was also why Hope decided to head home and find a way to stop them. And Kai couldn't stay in his apartment without someone to help him until he healed and Hope didn't want him to be alone while she was gone, in case the demons came back. So that was how Kai ended up staying with my family for pretty much two whole months.

It was so hard to stomach my feels for him. But, I think I was in the clear.

During that time Kai learned he is Omnikinetic, meaning his power is Omnikinesis! He could manipulate anything which was strange. But, still cool.

And most recently, I built him a completely customized prosthetic leg, which I think he loved. And that was the most recent thing to happen to me. That was my science project! Which was last night to be exact, if I may add. And I am so pumped to get the results later this week hopefully.

* * *

Kai wasn't a training today. That was wired.

I knew he was pretty tired after the Science Fair, I went home and collapsed also.

But he normally showed up for Saturday morning training before going to Xavier's.

Hope hadn't seen him all morning either.

So I was making my way down to his room to check on him. Maybe he isn't feeling good or something… I mean he could still be asleep or something.

I look down the hallway and hope was standing in his doorway with her normal black tank, army pants, and combat boots.

"Hope!" I call running up to the red-headed sorceress.

Hope doesn't hear me.

"Hope! Hope! Hope! Hope!" I call until I finally stop; I am standing right in front of her.

I look in the room she is standing in the doorway of and I gasp.

It was Kai's room.

Hope's dragon was inside sniffing.

"What on earth happened in here?" I ask alarmed.

Kai's living room was trashed. The large window that looked over New York City was shattered and the glass was lying on the floor showing that the glass was broken from the outside, this was clear by the glass laying all over the floor.

"I am not sure," Hope says seriously. "Orson, is he here?"

The dragon looked up from sniffing and shakes its head no.

I look around the room startled.

"Any security footage?" I ask quickly.

"Sabrina's checking that with Coulson," Hope says. "Orson search, again," She commands as the dragon went around the room.

I watched Orson enter the room and sniff around.

And after a very thorough search, the other thing he could find was a huge pile of blood that had stained the rug in his living room and was also staining the couch.

His crutches had been left behind also. Lying on the ground, they looked scattered.

"How or what could have done this?" I ask standing next to Hope as she inspects the damage.

"Something big, clearly," Hope replies grimly. "But, I don't get the 'how' part of this. Kai is Omnikinetic. He can theoretically manipulate anything. Someone would have to be out of their mind to attack him."

"Every villain ever," I mumble.

Hope doesn't reply but continues to inspect his apartment.

Sabrina ran in a few minutes later, completely out of breath.

"Where's Hope?" She asked me. I simply pointed to Kai's room. I was still in the living room. Just looking at the broken glass and thinking about what super-villains might attack Kai.

Goblin came to mind first. I felt bad thinking about that. But I don't know why, he is in SHIELD custody. Ok, the size would match and he is reckless with this kind of thing. He would have his glider to reach this floor, which is also impossible! His glider was locked away will all the other gear of supervillains!

Doc Ock came second, he's been off the grid for a while. He also matches the size of the hole in the glass. And he would also be reckless in trying to capture Kai...

Hope walked out of Kai's room and motioned for me to follow.

After a quiet walk to a debriefing room, I took a seat in a chair. Hope was still too nervous to sit.

"Well," Coulson started slowly. "We checked the security footage. It wasn't touched."

I look to Hope, her face showed no emotions.

"And after also checking all cross references, we can confirm that Goblin was who broke into Kai's apartment last night," Coulson said watching hope with the rest of us.

Hope didn't move. I watched her and you could almost see it sinking in.

And then she said something nice and loud in Chinese. She repeated it several times.

I wanted to know what she was saying, but it was probably a good thing I didn't know.

"Ranting is good but could you maybe say a little bit in English so I could you know help you out," Sabrina says, patiently.

"putu-hs," Hope spoke.

"What would have been Goblin's motivates?" I ask quietly.

"We don't know for certain. All we knew was a few weeks ago Kai paid him a visit. But that's all we know." Coulson said.

Hope shut up for a moment and then took a deep breath.

"I'm certain I can track him down. I'll have Orson help me." She said after thinking. "Orson just spent a while smelling Kai's scent from the blood. He should be able to track it."

"I'll come. I can help you." I say quickly.

"Anna, I'd rather do this by myself. Kai, maybe you're friend, but he's my brother. I care more about him then you would know." Hope says placing a hand on my shoulder. "You can help me later, but I need this right now. I'll keep you updated, you were the last person who saw him before this happened." And with that, she leaves.

I hold my stomach and sink into my chair.

I care more than you know, Hope. I really, really, really like your little brother. He means a lot to me. I wish I would have told him how I felt by now. My cheeks go pink at the thought.

"Anna," Coulson said sternly. I turned to face him and Sabrina. "You were the last person to see Kai, which means you might have some information about him. I want to know everything that has happened in the past week. Everything you remember about him."

I look surprised. "Sorry Coulson, all I really remember was getting ready for the science fair."

"Come on, Anna. There has to be more than that. "Was he doing anything strange? Anything stick out about the last few days?"

I feel like I am on TV and I try to remember. "He was going to tell you about something today. The side of his head…" My hand went to behind my ear. "The chip! There was this metal chip embedded in his skin behind his ear, and it was doing something to him!"

Coulson thinks for a minute. "Anything in his head could easily mess with his powers, his powers are all metal. He is one of the mentally strongest people on the planet." He says thinking. "How long have you know about this?"

"I don't remember how long. But I think that it did something to his telepathy." I remember more, forcing my brain to think. "It knocked him and Xavier out during his last lesson."

"Cutting off his telepathy would be a smart move on a villain's part," Coulson said. "That would be shutting off his main means of communication."

"Anything else?" I ask him.

"No, that should be it."

"Anything I can do to help find him?" I ask nervously.

"Anna, I'm sorry. Hope's tracing his trail with Orson. We have SHIELD agents also working on this. For now, you just need to stay calm and be patient." Coulson tells me as he and Sabrina leave.

* * *

I didn't do anything the rest of the day. I was waiting on news. Hope showed back upat 8 o'clock. I had been worried all day, it was so hard to know there wasn't anything I could do.

I was up on the roof the minute Hope called in saying she was coming back.

She landed.

"I think I found something. Anna, you want to come with me and check it out?" She asks.

And I said yes right away.

I want Kai to get rescued ASAP.

I'm going crazy, all I know is the same villain that made him an amputee took him.

And that's bad.

Hope lands Orson by an abandoned warehouse. "You're kidding." I deadpan.

Hope shrugs. "Srood-eht-ffo-tsalb!" She commands and the doors fall to the ground at our feet.

I look at Hope in her costume and me in mine.

It was simple looking. It was boring. Plain white with a full face mask and come stripes

Hope- er... Spirit's costume looks much cooler than mine; boots, high-low shirt, cape, belt with pouches, off the shoulder spandex top, and a masquerade like mask. I guess that's what you get when you don't have your parents around watch you all the time.

We walk in Orson right behind us. Hope twitching at her side, she had apparently made some stuff she was eager to test.

And I was crossing my fingers that I would find Kai.

After walking around for a while, I was losing hope.

"Tiger, get over here." Hope's voice is scared. I didn't know she could do that.

I slowly walk over and gasp, covering my mouth.

There was what looked like an operating table hidden behind some crates and there was lots of blood.

There were what looked to be operating instruments as well. The walls in this area were all weird and deformed and one wall had two Chinese character on it.

幫我

"What's it say?" I ask.

"Help me." Hope reads. Kai must have been here.

I walk over to the table. "Maybe we should get a sample of this blood," I suggest.

"Yah, you do that," Hope says distantly. "Orson, search."

After a while we left the place was just trashed.

Hope said if anything it had been Kai's telekinesis throwing things around.

The scent was too strongly masked according to Hope to have Orson search any further.

* * *

That night I was lying in my bed. I didn't have homework. I was just thinking.

I was so looking forward to taking him out to eat today like I had promised him.

Our first "date." I guess; that's what it would have been.

And every time I had thought of it last night it seemed magical and perfect.

Me and Kai out somewhere; enjoying ourselves.

But now, that dream seemed…. It was gone.

I don't know when I will see him again.

If I ever see him again…

No, I swear, if I die trying I will find him. I have to.

"Anna, Honey? You ok in there?" Dad's voice calls through the door.

"I'm fine, dad," I call back.

He goes away, I can hear him leaving.

I just sit there and then a few minutes later I hear another knock.

This time, mom opens the door.

"Hey, sweetie," She says softly. I turn on my side so I don't have to look at her.

"I heard what happened with Kai," She says, it sounds like maybe I went through a breakup. The way she is doing this.

"Ok," I mutter.

"SHEILD's going to do everything they can to find him. Things are going to be ok. I promise." Mom says, she sits down on my bed and rubs my back. I purr comes from the back of my throat as the amulet glows at my side.

Mom pulls back the blankets and takes the amulet from me. "I should hold on to this for now," She says.

"Thanks, mom," I mumble.

"Look, if you need anything Anna, your dad and I are here for you." Mom says. "We don't want you all down in the dumps or anything. We want you to feel better."

"I know mom," I say to myself.

"I know it's hard when you don't think you can do anything. But you can have faith and hope, and just not give up. Ok?" Mom says.

"Ok, I won't give up on him."

Mom gets up. "Good night, Anna," she says and I can hear her closing the door behind her.

I look at the wall and slowly hot tears go down my cheeks.

What could I have done to stop this?

And that's how I cried myself to sleep that night.

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and ideas.**

 **A/N: Ok, so super huge chapter here today! So happy to post it. So I didn't want to waste time. Get right to it! Huge fight scene, what I live for. Connects to Next Generation: Kai Chapter 22. Just for those who would like a benchmark of to where we are! Enjoy!**

 **Shout Out: Happy Birthday to a Friend of mine, who really helped me get into posting my Fanfiction online. You, my friend, are a capital ROSSOME!**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218- This one is also nice and long, reaching about 2700+ words. You'll understand the end when I say I just could not stop writing. Because I love nothing more than a good fight scene. (Spoilers? Maybe.) We're sort of getting to the action quicker. I have some big plans for this story!**

 **I can't tell you for certain benchmarks yet, like when the main plot will start up. But I think Things will really pick up around chapter 10, if not before then, but this chapter is really good too.**

 **I think I finally made the connection with Anna so I can write her better. There were pieces missing that have now snapped into place by just sitting down and writing this.**

 **Speaking of growth Hope and Piper are both in this chapter. So we get to see a major look at Hope and a small tease at Piper. Not much of a tease, when I look at her I almost see DC's Starfire; being an alien who doesn't understand everything about earth. But I am trying to steer away from that. I have a friend who I want to kind of base Piper off of, she is quiet, timid, but really rossome (See Author's Note). I may also use her for another character.**

 **It's sort of a time skip, Kai spends about 10 or so (I don't really know, just a guess) chapters in captivity, so this will not be the equal length. I am glad you like the differences between Anna and Kai. I am going to use this toward the end to lead into them going their own ways.**

 **Sabrina will be making more appearances in this story and I will make sure to have loads of references. Also, Daniko will appear in this story, but their main story will go on. I guess they will just be teased.**

 **You are welcome for the nightmares, you might want to prepare for a few more and the feels if you need to just go back to Next Gen Kai or Neon (if you really need a pick me up).**

 **The scene that I cut out of Next Gen Kai was a kiss. Just so you know. Don't hate me for it, but it's just how I imagine and write the K'un-Lun culture. As Danny and Aiko say later in Neon; "multiple relationships is considered dishonorable."**

 **On the Ultimate Spiderman FanFic Home Page, I guess it's like a little hook to get people to come and read, also there is a character limit count so I can't make it as long as I want. But on my profile, I make it longer to give more and as you said shoe another side. The teen going on an adventure is more hooking than something thoughtful sometimes. Although I love both summaries for all my stories.**

 **Ok, well enjoy this chapter! Can't wait to hear from you! Enjoy!**

 **Guest- Don't worry too much. You can always read Kai's story; Next Generation: Kai, if you want to know what happened. Anywho! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

* * *

The first week was better than the rest.

Hope took Orson out about every night to track Kai down. But they never found him, just dead ends.

I was won First Place for my project, but it didn't matter to me. Kai wasn't there.

I would have liked it more if he were there with me.

So far the theory on Kai's telepathy being shut off appears to be correct.

He would have contacted us otherwise.

The others are worried at him too. I explained what happened during our training session while Hope was trashing the place blowing off steam.

She's been a wreck without Kai around. She's probably losing her mind trying to find him.

A whole month and a half, that's how long he's been gone.

I can't sleep all that great.

It's the middle of June and the weather is really nice, but I can enjoy myself.

I haven't gone swimming or done anything fun.

The only thing that makes me happy is Goblin is easy to track down. He can't really do too much "discreetly," come on he is a huge green monster.

We've almost got his location pinned.

And Fury said that us "Trainees" can help take him down.

Hope is really looking forward to that.

I leap over another robot, my mind thinking about Kai.

Proffer X had attempted to contact him via telepathy.

Which ended up with him collapsing.

I slash another robot into two parts, the amulet amplifying my emotions.

I am thankful for the full face mask, although everyone knows I am worried about Kai.

I think Hope my even be figuring out how I feel about him.

The rest of the robots deactivate and Coulson walks in.

I glare behind the mask wanting more to hit at.

"Alright. Training in being cut short for the day." He announces and I look to the frozen robot next to me.

I slash off its head.

Hope sighs stretching out her arms. She had been non-stop looking for Kai.

"Anna-Grace?" Piper asks walking up to me. "What is wrong?"

"Kai's kidnapping is getting to everyone," I reply. "I guess we're all on edge. We don't know where he is or what condition he is in."

"Oh?" Piper asked. "We have not found Goblin?"

"Almost there." I sighed. "We're getting close."

Piper nods.

Hope sighs and walks out. "I'm going out for some air. Going to see if I can do a locating spell."

"I'll come." I offer following her.

"Me as well," Piper calls chasing after us.

We all head up to the roof and Hope stands on the edge.

Hope held up her arms and took in a deep breath.

The she let it out.

"Are you two ready?" She asks us.

"Yup," I reply.

"Yes!" Piper replies.

Hope turns back to the city. "Dnarusta-notia-kllep-anoit-acol!"

Mist comes from her hands and goes everywhere. It dashes over the city in light pinks and purples, blues and greens.

The mist starts to come together in an arrow and shoots from one place to another.

"This doesn't make sense." Hope sighs. "This would mean he is on the move."

"Can you pinpoint him?" Piper asks.

"I can try." Hope sighs.

She extended her hands once more.

"Tniopnip!" She commanded.

The mist tried to group itself together and then burst upwards like fireworks.

"No use." Hope sighs. "I'm going to go see if I can contact my parents. Maybe I can get help there."

And with that she walks away.

* * *

Mom had taken me shopping with her after training. And it drug on forever. Like it would never end.

Eventually, it did.

Dad comes home from work late. Like normal. Mom says he should live in the SHIELD labs, especially on the weekends.

Dinner was spaghetti. Mom invited Hope over for dinner, and she brought some fresh baked bread she made.

Dinner was fine and afterward we watched a movie, and mom made popcorn. But other than that the night was uneventful.

Hope had just left and I was still on the couch looking through my email on my computer when Dad jumped to the ceiling, scaring mom and myself at the same time.

"Spidey sense. Something is coming." He warned quickly.

I held my head. "I feel something too."

Mom pulled the amulet out of her pocket and held it tightly.

"What is it?" She asked.

"I don't know." Dad jumped down. But the moment he did the window shattered inward, and the power went out.

"Anna, stay low." Mom ordered. The amulet began to glow and I heard clicking from Dad's web shooters.

"What do you think it is?" Dad asked.

"Someone clearly out of their mind." Mom growls. A figure appears in the window. Floating in the window opening.

It looked to be a boy about my age.

"I don't know who you are or what you want, but buddy, you just made a huge mistake," Dad says darkly.

I watch as he shoots webs.

But the webs a burned in flames before they reach the boy.

He responds by shooting the fire at Dad.

Mom leaps forward and tries to claw at him, but he moves out of the way. His hand reached out and grabs her arms and sparks with purple energy.

Mom gives a sharp cry in shock and pain and the boy releases her.

Dad had put out the couch which had burst into flame.

"Who are you?" I shout at the boy.

He doesn't speak, he just moves into the house.

"Anna, get down!" Dad shouts.

I feel a tingle in the back of my head. And I hit the dirt.

The metal legs of the table had melted at shot at the wall, like a nail, going right through, right where I had been.

"I need some light," Dad complains.

The front door flies open and Hope runs in. "I felt something strong. What's-"

Hope was cut off by a fire blast.

"Dragon Lords." She breathed. "What in the name of Shoa-Loa?"

Hope turns to the figure. "Thgi-ls-uevig!" She whispers.

Yellow mist lights the room. The figure looks to us waiting on use to make a move.

I freeze. "No."

Hope also freezes. "Dragon Lords."

Then she taking action. "Snia-hcht-iwdnib."

Dark red chains shoot out and attempt to wrap… Kai.

They manage to hold him as he doesn't struggle to move.

"What's going on?" I ask quickly.

Mom gets up. "He would never attack us on his own will. He must have someone controlling him."

"Whoever they are must have your secret identities," Hope adds.

I just can't stop looking at Kai. He was wearing solid black. His hair had grown longer. He looked a little worried and timid. He looked like a cornered puppy.

"Anna, call Fury, get someone down here," Dad says quickly.

I obey and tap my watch. "Anna to Fury."

"Coulson Speaking." My watch replies and Coulson's face appears.

"We need back up," I say frantically. "Kai just showed up and attacked us."

"Kai?" Coulson asked. "Hope's brother?"

"Yes, Hope's brother!" I exclaim.

"I'm contacting Powerman and Nova. They will be the quickest response." Coulson says. "We have some important information about Kai, we believe we have found where he is being held."

"That's great." I smile. "But he is here. Now!"

"Sit tight, help is on the way." Coulson says grimly and hangs up.

"Coulson is sending in Powerman and Nova," I report to Dad.

"Hope how long can your spell hold him?" Dad asks.

"No clue," Hope responds with a sigh. "Luckily Kai's not in control. If he were he would be able to get out by now. Whoever is using him as their puppet isn't that bright."

Kai looked at us. And struggles against his bonds. "Kai, stay down," Hope warns.

He snaps his big eyes open and looks at all of us. They were a scared green and bloodshot. There were bags under his eyes and they were also red like he had been crying. His face was sickly pale, which worried me. Kai had a natural tan. But he looked ghostly. His cheekbone could be easily seen as well. He looked starved.

"Kai, just take it easy," I coax. "Help is coming."

Kai violently fights against the bonds, this time, he breaks through. He speeds across the room and grabs mom by the neck. Holding her against the wall.

"Kai, let me go. I don't want to hurt you." Mom warns as she grabs both of his hands.

I watch as Kai's face gets really close to Mom's. Then his lips move. No sound, just movement.

Mom's eyes widen and she falls limp and Kai lets go of her.

"Ava!" Dad yells. "Don't you dare touch her, you creep!"

"Kai only turns to face dad and holds out a hand. Purple energy gathers and shoots like a beam knocking Dad to a wall.

"Anna." Hope whisper-yells at me. "Get the amulet. You have to fight."

I nod, breathing heavily.

I move over to Mom, she was still awake. I tried to move her hand but it was much too heavy.

"Anna, he manipulated the gravity around me." Mom whispers. "Run. I don't want you to fight him."

"Sorry, but I have to keep him here. If he gets free, we may lose him." I reply as I take the amulet from her belt. "I have to help him, you taught me that. We're the heroes, we help each other and especially others who can't fight back."

Mom smiles. "Good girl. Just be careful."

I nod. "Ok."

I attach the amulet to my waist and run to my room and grab my own web shooters that I had been working on.

Kai stopped the blast that was hitting Dad. Dad's head was limp and moved to the side. Kai finally landed on the ground from levitating the entire time and did a stumble walked toward Dad. When he got to where he was going he knelt down and grabbed Dad's head studying it carefully.

"Someone is looking through his eyes." Hope whispers.

Dad's eyes shoot open and he punches Kai in the chest.

Kai was thrown backward and made the first noise he had made the entire time.

It was a strangled cry in agony, but it also sounded like a sob.

"Is Kai really here?" I ask Hope.

"You're looking at him."

"No, I mean is he mentally present or not?" I rephrase.

"Arua-wohs." Hope mutters. Mist swirls around Kai in murky colors.

"Normally his aura is a mixture of bright positive colors, but it's just browns, grays, and black," Hope says. "So to answer your question. He is not here."

I shoot webs at him. "I was hoping we could get him to fight off the control."

"Fat chance, he's strong but he's had more than enough time to be broken," Hope responded. "Once people break and give up, it is harder than just asking them to come back." She paused. "In a case like this, he would need to be free of any control to take back over. He would have to come to a calm spiritual balance inside of himself before he could start to even fight off the thought of what is happening."

I sigh. "It was worth asking."

Kai breaks through my webbing at his body language shows anger and hate, but his eyes still show the eternal fear.

He levitates off the ground and extends a hand at Hope, who is thrown back by a gust of wind. I watch as she is thrown out the broken window.

Then he turns to me. I slash at him and he grabs my wrist.

His tight grip hurts me and I close my eyes. "For someone in such a weak state, you're strong," I mutter weakly. Kai looks at me in the eyes and then tightens his grip more.

I hear my wrist make a popping noise and then he drops me.

I cry in pain and cradle my wrist. He holds out his hand and before he can do anything I punch him with my bad wrist.

He catches it and then snaps my wrist like it was a simple feat. I fall to the ground and look over to Mom and Dad.

Kai held out his hand to Mom, she let out a cry in pain and then went limp.

He turned to Dad and held out a hand and closed his eyes, the purple energy explodes at Dad again. This time, once the blast stops Kai rushes forward and slams his fist into Dad's head. Knocking him out.

"I'm not done with you, Little Man!" Hope yells behind him.

Kai turns to focus on her.

"Listen to me well, whoever is controlling my brother, you have made a grave mistake. I will have to die a thousand deaths before I give up on him! You understand me?" She screams, one hand holds her bleeding side. "You have to kill me if you want him."

Kai moves forward toward her.

I watch helplessly.

 _"Evil spirit that holds your soul, let me only speak this one time.  
For this is a powerful spell more than just any other rhyme.  
You have possessed this body, and you have had your fun,  
But now I must perform this spell and warn you that you are done!"_

Hope starts to float in the arm and colorful mist twist and circle around her.

Great, I bet the neighbors are watching this light show. I sigh and watch. It was beautiful when you took away the situation.

 _"Dragon's hear my call and plea! This is a spell and an offering!  
Wash away this evil and cleanse this soul;  
Take this person and make them whole!  
With the evil, do as you might see fit and just!  
Restore all the order in this poor victim and in me trust;  
To mend the spirit with the help from thee, to once again restore the peace."_

Kai's body is washed up in the colorful mist and his arms are bound to his side and he is held down as electricity flows through his body.

He lets out a heartbreaking cry and his body goes limp.

And after a while, the mist all suddenly evaporates and Hope and Kai both fall to the ground hopefully unconscious.

"Where's Luke and Sam?" I ask myself nervously.

Kai's body slowly sits up.

"How are you even still moving?" I whimper.

Kai looks over to me and rushes at me. But before he grabs me his stops and drops the ground curling into a ball. He holds his head and speaks quickly and quietly in Chinese.

I don't move.

Every bit of logic inside of me is telling me to run while he is down.

But some part of me almost likes watching Kai struggle. I look at the amulet. It wasn't glowing more than normal so this was just me.

Do I like seeing him like this? Weak and hurt.

No…

"Then why does, it feel right?" I mutter aloud.

My eyes snap open. Maybe this is how I have always viewed him. As a weaker being.

"No, that's not right," I whisper.

Finally, I aim my good hand at him and shot a web.

Kai burns through it and grabs my forehead.

What's going on?

What was I doing?

Thoughts just start to leave my brain.

"No!" I scream at him. "Let go!"

Fouse Anna.

"Kai, Stop this!" I felt dizzy.

Kai doesn't listen. But then eh suddleny let's go and I fall to the side.

My brain feels like a blackhole. I forget almost everything.

I struggle to grab the facts.

"I am Anna-Grace Parker," I whisper. "And I love Katio."

"I love Kaito," I repeat looking up at him I hear the doors burst open.

I fell my body getting cold. "I love you."

I can't remember anymore. I don't know anything. I have no thoughts. I don't even know the words I try to think as I collapse into the darkness.

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and ideas.**

 **A/N: Ok, I feel bad for not working on this. I wish I could like write in my sleep or something (I would update like twice a week per story if I could). My mind is crazy. Ok, so this chapter it kind of short and a bit sad. But we have Peter to cheer us up. While writing this chapter I actually did some cool research on google maps and all. And hey, learned something new. Enjoy!**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218- This one is shorter than the others I want to hurry up with the rescue. I have plans to move on with. Sorry about Kanna, just so see Moments for some Kue.**

 **I don't know what clicked, it was just easier to write her POV now.**

 **I love Teen Titans too. Raven's my favorite. But I also like Starfire.**

 **I don't really have big plans yet for Anna, she is still only on chapter 5. So I haven't planned everything out.**

 **More depressed Anna over Kai, he'll be back soon enough.**

 **Ava would also work at SHIELD, to me she would have basic medical training and she would be a high ranking field agent or trainer for new recruits.**

 **Anna does have something to her, the teenage high-school survival instincts (I don't know where that came from). But she's got potential.**

 **I made up the chant myself with a little help from the internet.**

 **I guess for the fight I just wanted to have that really you know, wake up call to Anna because this is a very important small starting point for if they are going to be able to work well together and be able to trust each other and stuff, they'll talk about it later. I'll make it sweet. The part of Anna being dominate will also come into play. I have a friend like her, who just has to be in control and all. It's an interesting character to write and use.**

 **Ok That's long enough for this one.. updating everything today so I just need to get through all these author notes and reviews. Enjoy!**

 **Guest- Why Kai and Yue are not together will be explained later in the story, I believe that will be hoe it plays out."You did what?" A voice I don't know asked. It didn't sound angry, rather it sounded impressed, almost excited.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

* * *

Where on earth am I?

I opened my eyes and I looked at the boring ceiling.

"Hope! That's amazing!"

I groan and sit up. Hope was sitting on a hospital bed next to mine. She had a single IV in her one arm and was rubbing her head.

A strangely dressed man was talking to her. He was wearing a long blue tunic, black pants, and a golden belt.

"It didn't work," Hope grumbled.

"Hope," The man said. "You performed an exorcism spell, successfully."

"Then why didn't Kai get free of the control. His aura didn't change. It was still controlled. He was still controlled." Hope shot back.

"If your brother was controlled by possessed or controlled by means of magic, you would have got him back. But, it was science that was controlling him. And you are not a powerful enough sorceress to conquer such advance technology." The man explained.

Hope looked very disappointed. She also looked like she wanted to say something but she kept her mouth shut.

"What's going on?" I asked, my voice was raspy.

"The villain got away with Kai," Hope said it so bluntly that it almost didn't hurt. Almost…

I nod. "And who are you?" I look at the man.

"Dr. Strange, Sorcerer Supreme." The man said.

"Sounds very familiar," I mutter.

"It should." Dr. Strange said. "I have helped your parents on numerous occasions."

I nodded. "Well, back to square one."

"Not actually," Coulson had just walked in. "Kai's contacted SHIELD. He sent a distress signal through a computer."

"A computer? Do you understand how faulty that sounds?" Hope asked annoyed.

"Hope's got a point. If Kai can get around using a computer, he will. A teacher even commented that on one of his report cards. She wrote something about how all his research in a report he wrote come from books. All of them." I chime in. "A. Report. Card."

"Give me proof that it isn't a trap." Hope challenges Coulson, quick and to the point.

Coulson handed he the file in his hands and Hope opened it.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. - I need help. Trace this message back to me. I'm dying. - Kaito Rand-K'ai." Hope read aloud. She closed the file. "Point taken."

"What?" I ask confused.

"A trap would not have had Kai's last name on it. Full K'un-Lunian last name anyway." Hope says. "And I don't think that anyone else would put a period between the acronym for SHIELD and use half decent grammar with the periods and a hyphen. So, I believe it. Kai sent that."

"I want to look," I say holding out my hand. When I look at it, I notice my hand was in a brace. "What the-?"

"You got your wrist sprained," Coulson says handing me the file.

S.H.I.E.L.D. - I need help. Trace this message back to me. I'm dying. - Kaito Rand-K'ai.

The message was repeated all the way down the paper.

"Why is it repeated so many times?" I asked slowly.

"Likely he didn't know it sent?" Coulson suggested.

I nod.

Hope sighs. "Can you trace it?"

"We already did and Peter went through the files. NO one was home when we crashed it there, but we know where Kai is going next." Coulson said easily.

"Where?" Hope asks.

"K'un-Lun," Coulson said.

The room went dead.

Until Hope started ranting loudly in Chinese.

* * *

Sabrina and I had been sitting here on the couch watching Hope and Dr. Strange meditate.

It was boring but they had to do it. Sabrina had only wanted to come because it was magic, and I only came because I want to know what message they can get to K'un-Lun before something happens.

Hope sighed and slouched, my back hurt from watching her. "Well, not much we can do now."

Dr. Strange stands. "You are correct."

He offers Hope a hand and pulls her to her feet.

"What?" I ask quickly.

"What do you mean what?" Hope asks.

"What happened?" I clarify.

"We were about to tell my Dad that Kai was coming, he already knew, and he and my mother are waiting for him to show up so they can stop him," Hope said easily.

"You're Mom? Hasn't she been out of the hero gig for ages?" I ask.

"That only means she doesn't go on missions, she still trains regularly. She's like my Dad for that matter, if they skip training a certain number of times they develop a twitch." Hope smiles fondly.

"We need to get to SHIELD and take care of arrangements to pick up Kai, after the information we gathered when he attacked you, we are certain that he needs modern medical treatment. He wouldn't be able to stay in K'un-Lun." Dr. Strange cuts through our talking.

"We'll I'm taking the bike back to HQ, another teleportation spell or ride on Orson and I will quite literally throw up." I say easily.

"Teleportation spell please!" Sabrina says quickly.

Hope rolls her eyes. "See you at HQ then, Anna." She waves her hand and Dr. Strange does his spell.

Once they are gone I walk out to the streets. I slide into the seat of a bike my dad had worked on for me. It wasn't as flashy as his. It was normal looking but had all the SHIELD bells and whistles.

I'll have to take Kai out for a ride one day when he gets back. He'll like it.

"Nah," I say allowed. "He just pretends to like things." I started the bike up.

It's a long drive to the Triskelion. The teleportation Spell is nearly instant. Orson at his top speed is maybe less than ten minutes. But riding on the roads will take you forever.

Then you have to get on an underwater train to get to the Triskelion because it's in the middle of the Upper New York Bay. And mom wouldn't let me on the highway which makes the drive even longer.

I tap the GPS and put in "51 Port Terminal Blvd, Bayonne, NJ 07002" It's the closest actual address to the SHIELD transport I have. And it doesn't warm my heart ever when I type it into the GPS.

* * *

It's a long drive, somewhere around forty minutes. The people allowed on the road, don't know what they are doing half the time. It gave me some time to think about just about anything. I thought about Kai a good deal. I feel like I was being blind when he was here. I was just trying so hard not to make him uncomfortable, I probably made him more uncomfortable than I originally though.

I mean, I don't know…

I pull up to the address and stop the bike and look up at the beautiful memorial. Tear Drop Memorial. A gift to the US after the 9-11 attacks when Mom and Dad were just kids. A symbol against Terrorism.

I'd give anything to go back and live back then, life was easier than it is now.

The Tear Drop Memorial is a beautiful sculpture of a tear, and all sorts of names are carved in the base.

Here I was, a hero supposed to help in times like that, and stop those people… and save all those names…

And the guys I like has been turned into a weapon for Doc Ock and is now going to destroy his home.

"What kind of hero am I, anyway?" I shout at the memorial. "I look at you all the time and then the first guy I really get to know and fall in love with gets kidnapped!"

I have a headache. "A lousy hero."

I don't want to go to HQ, I want to just go home. Queens is, at least, another 45 minutes on the bike. People who can teleport have it lucky.

I sigh and walk up to a small office looking building and I walk in. I close the door behind me and walk up to an available desk.

I flash a guard my SHIELD ID and he lets me through. I park my bike in my spot and lock it up. Even if this is SHIELD I'd rather be safe.

As high tech and fun as it is to take the underwater train, I can't cheer up.

When I finally make it up to Dad's lab he is waiting for me.

"Anna, how did it go?" He asks.

"Fine. I don't know what the plan is but, I figure there is one." I slouch down in a chair.

"Kai's going to be held in K'un-Lun and sent right back here on a plane," Dad says easily.

"That's good," I grumble to myself.

"Something wrong?" Dad asks as he mixes some chemicals. He instantly looks worried like he made a mistake and ducks as the test tube begins to bubble.

When it's clear he stands back up.

"I was looking at the Memorial again," I admit. "I'm a lousy hero, I couldn't even protect Kai."

"What makes you think he wants protection?" Dad asks me.

"I don't know. Just… I mean…" I take a deep breath. "He has lived in a sheltered world for so long and got thrown into our world. It's a mess. Hope can handle our world. She's got the tough attitude and can kick anyone's butt. Kai doesn't like to fight, I don't even think he can punch. He just acts like a helpless little kid."

"Your point?" Dad asks.

"I don't know anymore, was I treating him like he was inferior before?" I ask. "Cuz' that's how it feels to me."

"You were just doing what you could to help," Dad says absentmindedly, "If Kai complains about it… Blame those classic Parker genes you got. Helping others run in the family"

I smile. "Thanks."

My watch beeps. "What?"

"Anna, mission," Hope replies. "You, me, and Piper."

I groan. The amulet was in my pocket. "Fine, on my way."

"Cheer up. Kai's coming home. If anyone tries to interfere with flying Kai back, Danny will murder them." Dad laughs. "I mean, he's probably pretty mad about all this to begin with."

I raise an eyebrow.

Dad goes on. "And if he doesn't do anything, you can bet Aiko will beat them to a living snot. Kai's her youngest, so he's her little baby."

I nod. "Alright, I am going on this mission."

"Punch them for me." Dad smiles.

"Why not?" I call back. I walk out of the lab and sprint to the transport docks.

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and ideas.**

 **A/N: 10 hours in a car this weekend. Really should have done school work but… nope. I wrote FanFiction but when I got home I had school stuff and didn't get a chance to update until now. Anyway, I will be updating Coming Together and Neon ASAP. And also, moments will update when I get something satisfactory written. Love this chapter and how it connects and foreshadows. I didn't expect Piper to show up but she just kind of did. Oh well…**

 **Reviews:**

 **marissamtz03- Alright next chapter ready to roll, enjoy!**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218- Alright *cracks knuckles* let's do this. Seriously I love doing this.**  
 **High school is the worst, yup, hands down, no questions please. Thanks for the compliments I really do love writing and all this stuff, whether it comes easy or not, I put 110% into it. (A reason Neon is not jet updated, chapter is still bumpy.) I don't really know yet, I haven't written much ahead in this story except one part which I have bene working on. (NO SPOILERS) Hope plays an important role in this chapter. Very Important, and you may need to do some translating with google…. (This Ch is maybe right before Next Gen: Kai Ch 24). Anyway Hope does some Chinese Ranting, her favorite. Also you get to see exactly how desperate she is. It's bad.**  
 **I also love writing the little hints and there is talk of K'un-Lun life in this chapter. Also, think about it. Kai is scared of the world around him, he's just trying to survive in this world. Nothing more.**  
 **I loved doing the Tear Drop Memorial research. It was so amazing and I use the street view on google maps to look at it. Amazing. It's just so amazing and to use the event everyone knows about today and how Anna still knows about it in the future. I think it's amazing. It will hopefully come back.**  
 **Simple mission in the beginning of the next chapter. Anywho. I hope you enjoy. Get ready for some intense action. And Daniko mentioned by Peter. Enjoy!**

 **Guest- Ok, next chapter enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

* * *

"Ecinez-orf!" Spirit yelled.

This was too easy. Really.

I jumped over a robot and it smashed into a wall.

Spirit had frozen three in a huge ice chunk. The next spell froze the floor around her. She was about to move around perfectly on the ice as if trained. The robots, not so much.

And Mimic was flying around easily, moving from side to side dodging blasts as the blasts hit other robots and not her. Each exploded in turn.

Spirit swung around and kicked ahead off a robot and then punched one.

I slashed on right through the chest and pulled out its power source.

Spirit slammed her heel into another robot and looked around.

"Is that everything?" She asked.

"I think so." Mimic landed next to her.

"That was easy enough," I mutter.

"Knock on wood." Mimic chuckled.

Spirit sighed. "I wish that they would just get back here with Kai already." She complained.

"He needs a code name," Mimic suggests.

"Why?" I ask her. "He doesn't go on missions."

"Tiger is right. He wouldn't be going on any missions anytime soon, or ever. He's just not made of that kind of thing." Spirit adds. "He's powerful. But that doesn't mean he's a hero."

"I never said that!" I jump to defend myself.

"I know my brother," Spirit says as she walks out of the warehouse.

Mimic and I follow her. "What does that mean?"

"It means I have known Kai his entire life. I have an idea of how he thinks. He's a pacifist, just like my Dad. He wouldn't be going on any missions anytime soon." Spirit explains.

"Let's head back to SHIELD and wait," Mimic suggests. "SHIELD is getting Kai, so things will be ok, right?"

"I hope so." I sigh. "I really hope so."

Spirit smiles. "Same."

* * *

I flew on Orson, with Hope back to HQ. And then I hung my head over the side of a trash can for five minutes.

Then we all went to communications to see what we could find out about when Kai will be returning home. The jet was about an hour or two out. That's all we were told, besides Kai was with them.

There were medics on board the craft. And Hope was about to get details being his sister. He was unconscious when he was picked up and they instantly put him on medication to keep him under and keep him out of pain. His condition was apparently pretty bad. His parents must have given him a beating.

So now we were left with the task of waiting.

At first, we trained, then we tried a board game. Neither ended well. Hope blew up all the robots and Piper messed up the game.

So we just sat around. Piper didn't have anywhere to go so she hung out with us. Sam's off the planet at the moment and her Mom was with him so she was staying in an apartment on the base. And Sabrina was hanging out with us too.

"Hey, Hope?" I ask from the couch on the lounge.

"Yes?" Hope asks from where she was reading something in Chinese.

"How about you tell us about K'un-Lun?" I ask.

"What's there to know?" Hope asked. "It's the mystical heart of the world."

"What was it like growing up there?" Piper asked.

"Nothing incredibly special." Hope sighed. "But being born with magic I was raised differently than normal. If I wasn't born with powers I wouldn't know how to fight."

"Your parents are like the monarchs right?" Sabrina asks. "Come on that has to be awesome right? How big is the palace? How many servants do you have?"

"Yeah, my Dad is the king and my Mom's the queen. The palace is really big. Three stories. I don't know the square footage. But it's huge. And I don't have any servants."

"Really?" I ask.

"No. I never needed any. My grandparents took care of me when I was little and needed a babysitter. Back then Mom wasn't so busy so she was always there." Hope smiled.

"Do you have a picture of them?" Sabrina asked.

"Somewhere. But it's from a long time ago when they were slightly older than me." Hope explained.

"What about school?" I ask. "How does that work?"

"There are normal schools that both girls and guys can go to learn reading, math, and history. And then boys get to go to my Grandfather's Temple to train in martial arts."

"Girls also train right?" Piper asks.

"If they have powers." Hope shrugged.

"So what about Kai, how does his normal day go? And yours?" I'm curious.

"My day is I get up and train, breakfast, studies with my tutor until lunch, after that I train some more. Then I get some free time before dinner. After that… well, I guess more time to myself…" Hope shrugs, "my day is easy."

"How about Kai's normal day?" I ask.

"Kai gets up and does his school work before breakfast, then after breakfast, he is with his tutor, but not as long as me, he does things more by himself. It's how he learns. Then after that he usually just disappears for a while, I see him at lunch. And then he is gone until dinner."

"So you have no idea how he spends his time?" Sabrina asks me.

"Not really. After everything that happened when he was eight… he's just been an introvert. Doesn't like to be around a bunch of people." Hope shrugs.

"What happened when he was eight?" Sabrina asked.

Hope clicked her tongue and placed her hand right on her leg above her knee, on her left leg and made a slash.

"Oh." Sabrina sighs.

"Does he have any friends?" Piper asked.

"Um… no," Hope replies. "He doesn't really have any friends. Actually, there is our friend Jun, he's about two years older than me. He's a family friend. Kai likes him ok. Why are you guys curious anyway?"

"Killing time." I supply. "What other cool things are in K'un-Lun?"

"Fresh air." Hope deadpans. "People with brains. Good food."

Piper laughs. "I know how you feel."

"What types of people are there?" Sabrina ask. "Like at high school, you've got the jocks, nerds, geeks, secret heroes in disguise..."

"Hm…" Hope thinks for a moment before listing. "Monks, scholars, nobles, warriors, farmers, merchants, immortals, healers, and only a few sorceresses."

"Ok so who are healers?" I ask.

"Our equivalent of doctors." Hope shrugs. "They are very cool people."

"Immortals?" Piper asks.

"Yes, I'm half immortal. It's just as it sounds like, you have the ability to live a really long life, and you're also tougher than a normal person."

"And Sorceresses?" Anna asks.

"Only a handful are still around. And most keep their magic hidden. Although I know just about all of them. There is kind of like a secret city where they live." Hope smiled.

I sigh. "Love to go there."

"You would be so done after a week of withdraws from technology." Hope points out.

"I'd like to go to. It's inter-dimensional travel!" Sabrina says happily. "And it's like time travel too. Wait…" She seemed to trail off. "Does that mean there is a second me?"

"That would be in a parallel world." Hope corrects.

"Oh. I still want to go." Sabrina smiled.

"I've been to many places but nothing like the way you describe it," Piper smiled.

"Piper would have the easiest time adjusting to K'un-Lun," Hope says easily. "She could pick up on the culture really quick and possible the All-Speak accent too."

"All-Speak accent?" Sabrina asks. "Can we hear it?"

"I think I heard Kai's when you guys first came to New York," I smile.

"It sounds like this." Hope's voice was beautiful. It sounded so soft. But strong and thick. There is no accent on earth like it or as charming.

"Whoa," Sabrina says in amazement. "I need to learn that."

"I'm not going to teach you." Hope's voice returns to English.

Our watches beep. "Hope you need to get down to the hanger. There is a problem."

"Four words to describe the universe." Sabrina mutters. "I'll get my screwdriver."

"Kai's in the hanger if they are back," Hope muttered and paled.

"Wonemut-soc!" She yelled and took off running her mists all swirling around her as she ran changing her into her costume.

I jump up too and take off after her.

When we arrive it's a disaster. The ship was wrecked. It's a shock it got all the way up her in its condition.

Fury was here, a shock. He was rubbing his head. Dad was there in costume and Mom was also there in a shield uniform.

"What happened?" Hope demanded.

"Hope calm down. We can't get worked up." Mom warms.

"Is this the ship Kai was suspended to be on?" Hope asks.

"Yes." Fury answers.

"你沒用的男人!" Hope shouts. She's mad. She's really mad.

"Hope…" Dad says slowly.

"Erehe-mocn-osro." Hope matters. Her eyes showed she was ticked off.

Orson was there a moment later.

"Where do you think you're going?" Fury yells at her.

Hope looks him in his one good eye. "I'm going to go get Kai. Since you, mortals can't clearly do the simplest job." She snarled at him. The room was dead. Hope was in control it felt like.

"You are not going after Doc Ock," Dad says sternly.

"Says who?" Hope challenges. In that split-second, Hope was different. She wasn't one of us. I saw her on a throne, being the leader she is. She was made to lead K'un-Lun she was doing what she knew. She was the one giving orders. She wasn't about to listen to anyone.

"Says me," Dad says standing before her. "Your parents will kill me if both of you die…" Wrong choice of words, Dad.

"So you're giving up? You're saying he's already dead?" Hope growled.

Orson also seemed to become aggressive.

"That's not what I mean!" Dad said quickly.

"你不明白! 有一語成讖！凱不能死. 他住.你不明白." Hope said.

I don't know what she said. But she meant it.

She walked over to Orson and put one foot in the saddle. She easily slides herself onto the saddle.

"Hope you are not going and that is final." Mom stepped up this time. "This is dangerous. Let the adults handle this."

"來吧." And Hope was gone.

"I guess I have to get her." Dad sighs. "Can't let her get killed."

"What about Kai?" I ask. "We aren't giving up on him are we?"

"Kai is hopefully still alive. If Hope knows what she's doing she'll lead SHIELD right to him." Dad explains.

"Don't worry. I don't want Danny and Aiko to kill me. I'll bring them both home." Dad says weakly. "Whatever it takes."

"I'll bring back up behind you." Mom says. "Do what you need to."

By this time Sabrina and Piper had arrived.

"You girls stay here and out of the way," Dad says. "No doing anything. Just stay out of the way and let us do our job."

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and ideas.**

 **A/N: Finally another chapter. I am under the weather so I plan to do some updating this weekend while I do absolutely nothing. I must warn everyone this chapter is quite sad. I had a friend read some of it and she agrees. So Please: READ UNTIL THE END! NO MATTER WHAT!**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218- Thanks for the praise. :) Kai is a lot like his dad. Very similar personalities, just different circumstances. Ok, the Hope thing. Women do not fight in K'un-Lun unless they have powers. All men, powers or not, learn how to fight. It's how it was in the comics. The sorceress city will definitely show up somewhere. Somewhere...**

 **I do enjoy writing Hope, she's going to have some pretty good lines in this story. To be fair to Peter, Anna is much younger than Hope. He has a few years until Anna is about 16 or 17, Hope's age. Plus, Anna is his first and only kid. Enjoy the next chapter!**

 **Guest- Alright. Here is the next chapter. Enjoy it! Read to see that happens! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

* * *

There was nothing the three of us could do but sit around in the Medical wing and wait for Hope and Dad to get back. It was killing me.

Sabrina was on her laptop and Piper was playing with a deck of cards she had gotten on a different planet. I couldn't read the writing and I wasn't sure if Piper could read it or not.

It had been a long few days, everything had happened so fast, it's only been about three or four days since Kai attacked us.

"Do you guys think they're ok?" I ask.

"Hope's physically tough and Kai's mentally tough." Sabrina shrugged. "They'll be fine."

"But Kai's been gone a long time," I add. "It doesn't matter how tough you are. Everyone has a breaking point. I bet Kai's hit his already."

"Kai is strong. Misfortune likes to follow him around like a puppy." Piper says, laying down a card that had a dog-like creature on it. "He should be used to this by now."

"But still." I sigh. "Is he always going to be like this?"

"Very likely." Sabrina sighs.

"And Hope's not changing anytime soon either," I add.

"Yup." Sabrina and Piper say in time.

Piper seems pretty quiet. I can't help wonder what she is thinking about. She places another card on the seat, she was sitting on the ground using the bench as a table.

"So, um…" I sigh. "Conversation just isn't worth it, is it?"

"Nope." Sabrina and Piper say again.

I sigh. I pull out my phone. No update on Hope and Kai.

Hope's really protective of Kai. It's like an older brother protecting his younger sister, but kind of swapping around. Kai hasn't always lived this sheltered life, had he? Sure seems like it.

It's quiet for a little while longer.

One red flash, the flash comes first, then the alarm. All of us jump up in alarm.

"Attention this is not a drill, all medical personnel to your respective stations, please. One Operation room need to be prepped and two other beds. Three injured agents are on their way. One in critical condition." A voice comes over the loudspeaker. "ETA five minutes. Please be ready."

We all jump up. "Three injured agents," I mutter.

"Hope and your dad got hurt," Piper muttered.

Everyone rushes around us and before we know it there are people rushing in.

My stomach completely drops to see the hospital gurney surrounded by people. I feel so weak standing there at the very moment. And it's hardly five seconds, but it felt like forever.

A hospital gurney was rushed by us at full speed. People were everywhere. Everyone was talking. I couldn't even see Kai's body. But I know it was him.

"His body temperature is dropping!"

"Brain activity is dropping."

"This kid needs and IV, now!"

"Someone get him some morphine!"

"We need an Anesthesiologist to get a mask on this kid, now."

My head hurts just listening. And just like that, they were gone. Into the operating room.

Gone…

I was cold inside and horrified.

Dad was limping and Mom was supporting most of Hope's weight. She looked pretty busted up.

Dad's costume was cut in some places, but he was mostly covered.

Dad sat himself down on a hospital bed and a doctor walked over and started talking to him.

Mom puts Hope down a bed over and another doctor walked over to take care of Hope.

Mom walked over to us.

"How is he?" I asked instantly.

"I'm going... to be honest..." Mom starts, "he's slipping away. All his vitals are starting to just drop one by one." She stays quiet so she can try to avoid Hope hearing her.

I looked over. Hope had done a spell and was dressed as she always was. Her arms were bruised, she had defiantly taken a beating.

"Keep Hope company, it's going to be a long wait." Mom said giving me a hug. She then walks over to Dad's bed.

A long wait for all of us. Once the doctor walked away we walked over. I sat on the bed next to Hope and Sabrina took a seat in a chair with her laptop closed.

Piper was still messing with her cards, but she was not playing a game.

It's all quiet and Hope freezes. Her body tenses up. My hair stands up on the back of my neck.

"Kai…" She muttered.

My heart stopped. It's this… I don't even know, but it hurt.

"What's wrong?" Piper asked.

"I feel something really strange. Like it is Kai, trying to use his telepathy or something." Hope says. "It's really cold."

We all watched her for a moment. She closed her eyes and let out a breath we could see. The whole everywhere was getting cold.

Everyone looked around in alarm and Hope kept watching the doors.

Ice seemed to be growing on the walls. This was spooky beyond all reason.

Suddenly it stopped. The room warmed up and the ice retreated. Everyone was watching the Operating Room door.

A nurse walked out and leaned against the wall trying to catch her breath. A moment later she walked back in without looking at anyone.

The room was dead… and I was scared for that word choice.

A few minutes past, maybe about 2 or 3. Then a man walked out.

"Hope. I need you to come with me." He said.

We all watched Hope shakily get off the bed, she limped over to the man and then followed him back.

It was quiet. Piper's eyes were wet. And mine were too.

I could hear Hope in talking in what sounded like gibberish, but I knew it was a spell. Kai can't be doing well. A moment later it stops. A moment later a nurse comes out and motions us in. All of us.

At first, no one moves. But we all make our way in. Slowly.

"His heart stopped beating." Mom whispers to Dad looking at the flat line. We were all pretty far away from the bed. Kai's body was covered in a sheet so we could not see anything. Hope was standing right next to the head of the bed, her posture stiff and her hand rested on Kai's forehead, covering his eyes.

"我非常抱歉. 我非常抱歉." Hope speaks quietly. "你應該成為下一任國王. 不是我. 我不能相信你放棄了. 但你真的應該得到更多的比你曾經在此生活了. 與聖徒休息. 我們都愛你. 你會被銘記和尊重." Her body is horribly shaking now.

I try to smile. I have a feeling I know what she was saying something beautiful.

It's so cold standing in the same room as Kai. I wanted to see his eyes. See him look at me. But…

We watch Hope lean in and kiss his forehead.

We all stay quiet for a while and my mind starts to wonder. He'll be taken back to K'un-Lun and buried there. Right?

I shake my head. I shouldn't think like that. Dad's hands are on my shoulders. He squeezed them tightly.

I felt hot tears streak down my face.

Kai…

Hope looks to us all sadly, she was crying too.

I don't think I've seen her cry before. She's always had a way out, and if she was scared or upset she masked it so well, but her mask had fallen. She was scared. She was alone.

Mom makes the first move, she slowly walks over to Hope and rubs her shoulders talking quietly in her ear.

Hope nods after a while and Mom takes her hand and leads her out.

I guess Hope needs her rest.

We all stand there for a while.

"Alright," Dad says quietly. "It's time to go."

We all walk out of the vacant common recovery room. And we all just sit there stiff and cold. My life is still going to go on. I'm not hurt. I'm ok… I mean I am not physically hurt. My brain is confusing me.

"Will he be taken back to K'un-Lun?" I ask quietly.

Dad just nods.

I feel like puking. This is awful.

It's like the middle of the night or something.

I can't think.

Struggle after struggle.

And this is how it ends.

I wonder what the afterlife is like.

I wonder where he is now.

I want to hear his voice.

I lay down on the bed where Hope had been and curled up into a ball.

Sabrina hugged her trench coat to her chest.

And Piper was now flipping over each card in the deck. One by one. Looking at the pictures.

Dad paced. Thinking to himself and running a hand through his hair. What was he going to tell Danny? Err... King Daniel?

We waited and waited. I don't know what we waited for. The doctor was still in the room with Kai. So were the others who had tried to save him. I guess they were just sewing him back up.

I hugged and pillow and stared off into space.

A moment later there was a cry from the Operating Room that scared everybody, it sounded like someone in pain... We all watched the door. Dad walked over and pushed open the door.

"Is everything alright?" He asked.

I jumped up and ran over. I looked in.

Kai moved ever so slightly the heart rate monitor started up again.

"Get him on life support. We need to get oxygen into his lungs."

My hands shot over my mouth.

"He's waking up. We need him to be unconscious."

"How is this even possible? He's been dead for at least twelve minutes."

"Don't ask questions right now. Just get him stable."

Sabrina was looking up at the ceiling in relief. She looked like she didn't know what to think. "Winchester." She muttered. She looked so relieved. "You're a Winchester, Kai…"

I don't know what to think. He wanted to get back home.

Piper is just staring at me. Waiting for me to explain.

Dad closes the door. "Let's let them do their job." He says his whole body seemed to relax and I was starting to feel cold sweat.

"We need to tell Mom, and Hope," I say quickly.

"Anna, Hope's been a nervous wreck lately," Dad warns.

"I don't care. She'll sleep better knowing he's ok." I say as I take off and running down the hallways.

* * *

When I get to Hope's room, I am out of air. But I pound on the door with enough force to wake the dead… Bad choice of words…

Mom answers. "What is it, sweetie?"

"Kai's ok, he's breathing," I say out of breath. "I saw him, he just somehow came back."

Mom just looks at me.

"I know it's crazy, but it's true. He woke up his heart was beating and everything." I explained. "Can I tell Hope?"

"No, I'll tell her." Mom says softly. "She's not feeling good. So I think you might just make it worse."

"But he's-"

"Anna, I'll tell her." Mom says sternly. "You, Sabrina, and Piper all need to go to bed. That's an order."

I nod. "Yes, mom."

He's alive. Kai is alive…

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and ideas.**

 **A/N: Ok! New Chapter! Like I said on my other story you guys can check my profile page to see when everything will update! I don't think I really have much to say right now, but enjoy this chapter and please leave a review!**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218- Well, get ready for more sadness. Another pretty dark and sad chapter coming right up. But it ends pretty well. I guess… I think that is part of why Kai hasn't noticed Piper, that and he isn't with the team all that much. Piper and Anna hang out the most at SHIELD and when there, Kai is normally just in his room or doing his own thing, not really working with the team. Anyway… enjoy this chapter and do not forget to read Neon (Updated Today!)! Enjoy!**

 **Nobel Six- Glad to give an unexpected twist! Sorry if it was really sad! But in this chapter things get better! Enjoy! And thank you for reviewing!**

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

* * *

I sat outside a private hospital room. There was a window so I could see, it was usually kept shut, but while Hope was in there she had opened the blinds so I could look in.

Only direct family members and the doctors and nurses could go in the room. But I could watch outside.

A nurse was in there checking all the machines. There were a billion. Hope had her back to me because she was getting bothered by looking up and seeing me with my nose still pressed against the glass.

Kai was still in awful shape, but he was alive.

He had a fairly large tube in his mouth that lead to his lungs, Hope said they would take it out and trade it for something smaller later on. But it was going to be a few days until he woke up and I would get to talk to him.

He was wearing a hospital gown to keep him covered up. His head was well bandaged too.

Dad was standing next to me looking in too. "He's going to be just fine."

"I hope so."

"Speaking of Hope. How do you think she's taking this?" Dad asks.

"I don't know. She won't want to leave until he wakes up." I begin. "But she'll get the boot eventually so she can get some rest."

Dad agrees with a nod.

"Are you happy you don't have to explain how Kai died to his parents?" I ask.

"I still have to explain. Remember how Hope felt that he died? His parents both felt it too. This is one of those situations where lying isn't an option." Dad sighed.

I sighed and watched the bed adjust positions. This time, to reduce any pain in Kai's lower back. Which, I have been told, is apparently a weak point for him. Causing him a lot of pain.

He's so small and skinny. His ribs stick out under the blankets.

Hope holds out her hand toward the nightstand and her mists all swirl around on the desk until they make a beautiful bouquet.

I sigh. "What if they come back for him?"

"They're locked up. I don't know how long it will last." Dad sighs. "They always get out."

"Always. But if Hope kills them we don't have to worry." I point out.

"Ock and Goblin are both under heavy guard to keep them here and safe from any ideas that she may have. Although I have a feeling that she will still try to beat them up." Dad sighs.

"Hope told me that she contacted her parents," I mutter quietly. "It looks like as soon as Kai is good to travel they will be going home."

"For how long?" Dad asks.

"I think they would make that decision there." I sigh. "Because all of this that's happened to Kai. And Hope's older and… something about marriage… I don't think they will be staying here much longer. This whole thing has been a mess. But the team will be different. Even if we don't go on missions as all of us together. Hope's the unspoken leader and missing her will mess all this up. And then Kai… If he leaves it'll be quiet without him around."

"It's quiet with him even actually around," Dad jokes. "I forgot numerous time that he was staying with us around Christmas."

"Well, I would miss having him in my classes." I sigh.

Dad nods. "I'm going to head to the lab. I'll see you later."

I sigh and watch as the nurse talks to Hope. Hope looks over at Kai and takes one of his hands, gently rubbing it.

I sighed. I wouldn't get to go in until he's better…

The nurse walked out and smiled at me. "He's getting stronger."

"I know," I mutter.

"You'll be able to see him when he wakes up in a few days." She says, walking away.

I watch in the sterile white and silver room. The far wall was a glass window. The clouds were beautiful. The sun was out and the weather was perfect.

Hope stood up and moved her chair back against the wall. She bowed to Kai's bed and then straightened herself up. She walked over to the door and closed the blinds so I could not see in. She then walked out the door.

I smile up at her. "He's getting better."

"I know." She sighs. "He's a fighter even if he won't admit it."

"Do you want to go get some ice cream?" I offer quietly. "There is this great place not far from here. About seven miles on my bike. Real old-school place."

Hope smiled. "Sure. Sounds great."

"We're taking my bike. Not your dragon." I say quickly.

"Fine." Hope agrees. "Let's go."

* * *

Day two after Kai's surgery.

I spent another day of visitor hours watching Kai thought the window while Hope laid out on the couch. She had spent the night there on the couch, she wasn't able to sleep in her room. Orson was even allowed in. Hope had argued that Kai would be safer if Orson stayed with him. She's right. A dragon should be a good bodyguard.

Hope was laying on the couch and looking over at Kai. She was under a homemade blanket and lost in thought. I was too.

He could be in this state for a long time. Or another few hours. Not knowing the answer to this was the worse.

A nurse was in there, occasionally blocking my view. Connecting Kai to a new IV or something or adjusting the machines that were helping him.

The large tube that was pumping air straight to his lungs had been taken out of his mouth. It had been replaced by two small tubes that were in his nose and tucked behind his ears. He was able to move the air in and out now by himself, a sign of progress. But the pure oxygen was still being offered.

Nothing else to do but watch and wait. Try to remember things about Kai, think of what he would like.

He likes books. I'll let him borrow some of my books or something.

I look over to Hope and realize she was watching me. The look on her face showed she was thinking. I jumped in surprise at her hard green eyes.

Hope looks away and gets off the couch. She walked over and moves one of the railings on the side of the bed down and sat next to Kai on the far side. She took one of his bandaged hand and gently massaged it.

Hope watched Kai's face. His tired sleeping face. My stomach hurt as I watched her. Kai was going to be fine. He was going to be just fine.

I wonder if I could talk Hope into taking me with her to K'un-Lun.

After a while, Hope stops and she stands up. She says something I can hardly hear and she then walks over and closes the window.

A moment later she walks out the door.

"Going to get some lunch?" I ask.

"Yeah," Hope sighs.

"Something on your mind?" I ask her again.

Yeah," She agrees.

"What?" I ask.

"Kai, K'un-Lun, Magic, Marital Arts. All that good stuff." Hope smiled.

"Good stuff," I repeat. "So do you have an idea about when you're going home?"

"Likely after Kai's birthday which is only in a week or two," Hope says

"Ok," I nod. "Would it be possible for me to come?" I ask.

"You don't know the language."

"I'll learn."

"You can't learn Chinese overnight."

"So? Wouldn't you and Kai be around? And don't your parents speak English?"

"My whole family speaks English." Hope corrects.

"Then why not?"

"You would have to stay with my grandmother or something because all of us have a normally busy day."

"Oh, come on." I cross my arms. "Not fair."

"You want to talk about fair?" Hope challenges me, it was without a second to even think, the moments I had finished my sentence. "What did Kai ever do?" Her voice was murderous.

I straighten up. "Nothing."

Hope watches me with hard eyes. "Exactly. My grandfather's most famous lesson; 'life doesn't care if you strive or if you starve'."

With that she turns on her heels and walks away stiffly, going back the way we came.

I stood there for a moment. "Life doesn't care if you strive or if you starve." I repeat. I sigh and shove my hands into my pockets. I guess she's right. I shouldn't complain. Kai's in the Intensive Care Unit and I'm complaining. I sigh and look up at the ceiling, everyone is on edge.

* * *

Day three of waiting on Kai to wake up... Yes, I'm counting each day and hour. He is still not out of harms way.

I didn't bother to go see Kai today, at least not yet. After Hope yelled at me… I didn't want to deal with it, more specifically; I didn't want to deal with Hope. I didn't want to have to go see her glare at me every time her eyes left her brother.

So I worked on my bike; she's a beauty. But I was still not feeling great, after yesterday's 'talk'.

Training rolled around and I was not looking forward to it because Hope had started leading training. She's a great leader and all, K'un-Lun has taught her well. But I still didn't want to face her.

Training was just the six of us.

Hope, me, Danielle, Piper, Drake, and Sabrina who needs basic combat training in order to work at SHIELD.

Hope paired up with Piper, Danielle trained up me, and that left Drake and Sabrina to go over basic blocks and punches.

Hope was really tough on Piper. Piper was covered in bruises and had a bloody nose by our half way mark. She limped over to the benches and sat down next to me holding her back.

"Are you ok?" I ask her quietly. Hope was off to the side by herself.

"I'll live," Piper muttered. "Hope's just really hurt so she's taking it out on me. She didn't mean to, but she is."

"Kai died, and had been in the ICU for three days now. She's on edge." Dani says to us from Piper's other side. "She and Kai have that bond that all parents wish their kids had. She's likely to kill the next person that hurts him."

"I wouldn't be surprised if she did." Drake sighs.

"I can hear ALL of you," Hope calls over at us. Each word was a nail on a chalkboard, slowly moving across a classroom.

"Well, it's not our fault you're sour," Sabrina said without thinking.

Hope stiffened.

"Roolfdnas-kciuq!" Hope said calmly.

The floor slowly starts to suck us into it.

Piper bolts up and hovers above us. "Hope, please calm down."

"Why should I?" Hope demands. "Give me one good reason I should calm down."

"You're not helping your brother when you are angry," Piper says quietly.

"Ytivar-gartx-edn-arool-flamron." Hope responds.

The ground goes back to normal and Piper is jerked down to the ground. My skin gets cold.

I'm honesty scared of Hope right this minute. She has the ability to hurt us. She has the skill to kill us. And her magic is very strong. Our only advantage is to pray her energy will wear out and with it her magic if she attacks us. But even then, she doesn't need her magic.

It's quiet for a minute.

"Let's get back to work. Pair up in different pairs." Hope says not looking at any of us. I've spend so much time with her lately I wonder how she really is at home.

We all look at each other. And Sabrina acts first. "No powers."

"That's a lie," I grumble.

"I'm not with Hope. I don't want to get shredded." She says.

"I'll take Sabrina." Piper volunteers.

I give a quick nod. "Drake, how about you practice with Hope? You could use the instruction."

Dani nods. "Yup. It'll be good for you."

Drake's helpless. Because I don't want to be with Hope and I don't think Dani does either. He only nods in defeat.

We trained and Drake was lucky for his unbreakable skin, he was aching by the end up didn't appear to have much physical damage.

I was just happy that I did not have to train with Hope. Very happy about that.

Coulson was the one to finally break us up again. He was in a pretty decent mood upon walking in. But he was almost always in a good mood. I've seen him mad but… he works at SHIELD and with Fury just about all the time, so I guess he just needs to be the optimist in the room. When he had our attention he just about fixed everything with just two words.

"Kai's awake."

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. MY OCs and ideas.**

 **A/N: Alright, another chapter! And some big reveals. I think there is a small part toward the end that will make ArtemisBAMF1218 very happy. And I am looking forward to some reviews. I hope everyone is enjoying this story and I can't wait to write more about it. I have some big plans. Enjoy!**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218- It is really sad to see it in Anna's eyes. On Kai's end it is more of just 'I am finally safe.' But for everyone else it is a lot more painful at this point. I think Kai doesn't admit to being a fighter because I guess his definition of a fighter is a warrior or someone who fights physical fights, not what everyone else thinks it is.**  
 **Anna is really sweet, wanting to help him get better and all. I have some really cute scenes lined up for them later on, with Anna wanting to help Kai as much as she can.**  
 **Hope really was on edge waiting for Kai to wake up and all and that line is from the comics. I really like it because it is true for so many people. Anyway, enjoy!**

 **marissamtz03- Sorry about taking so long I was busy, anyway enjoy! Thank you for reading!**

 **Nobel Six- Thanks for reading and enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

* * *

Day four.

By the time Hope had made it to the Hospital Ward yesterday, Kai was asleep again. She was talking to the Doctor in Kai's room.

He had informed us Kai had woken up and moved some, and seemed to be able to hear everything ok. But he didn't talk.

So now I was standing in the open doorway, looking at Kai. There was a nurse sitting at a desk a few feet away, she had said I could see him, but only for a little bit.

Kai moved slowly, he sleepily opened his eyes.

"Oh, sorry!" I whisper. "You don't need to be awake," I add to myself. "Did I wake you up?"

Kai stretched out his back and shakes his head sleepily, he must be really drugged up. I feel like he's a baby animal, still not fully aware of what's going on.

"Lair," I smiled at him gently. As much as this feels gentle, I can also get this feel of danger right in the back of my skull. Kai could snap, or something could happen. He's powerful and no one knows his current mental state, his world might as well be on fire.

I walk in slowly and take my seat. "Um… Hey. I'm not really supposed to be in here, but I thought you could use the company."

He smiles at my best he can, I can tell it's real. His eyes were struggling to stay open.

Yeah, I heard you weren't up for talking. So, I guess I can do all the talking then." I sigh. This is going to be awkward.

Kai just nods.

I reach into my bag and pull out my trophy from the science fair. "Look." I nearly whisper. Why am I whispering? It's quiet and just seems to be the right thing to do.

It floats out of my hand and it floats above Kai's head. It moves so he can get a good look at it. He smiles and then places it back in my lap.

"I've wanted to show you for a while." I begin, "I thought you would like it. I wish you would have been there, everyone wanted to know where you were."

Kai nods.

"We made up a story about you getting really sick and being in the hospital. Luckily for you, it's summer break." I tell him, thinking back. "You didn't miss any school."

We sit there quietly for a minute.

"So, I'm sorry about everything that happened to you, I really wish there was something I could have done. Anything at all. You don't deserve what happened. It was cruel." I apologize quietly. I can't help but think back to what Hope said.

Kai nods once more. His eyes get kind of distant looking, and dizzy.

"I was so scared, not as scared as you probably were. I mean… it must have been a nightmare."

I look at my lap when I look up I jump in my seat because Kai is glaring at me. He stops after a moment and then he leans into the pillows.

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean that." I trip and face plant over the words. "I was really heartbroken after the first week of searching. I was scared that you were gone."

Kai just watched me for a while. I couldn't help it, but my mind ran to all the worst things that could happen right now. Kai could pass out, collapse or some other medical thing could happen. Someone will barge in the window and try to kill us. Or even Hope walks in here and tries to kill me.

I feel my hand in my lap start to move. I look down and my face burns. I force my hand down and try to sit on it. I can't let Kai know he hurt me. It'd kill him.

We struggle like this for a while. He wants to see it.

He wins eventually, I just let him win. I shouldn't protect him, should I?

His sleepy eyes are now wide awake and they are bloodshot. I look over to a heart rate monitor and see that his heart is starting to race.

"Kai!" I call trying to get his attention off my hand. "Calm down. If you get too worked up, the doctors will come in here and I'll get kicked out!"

"I shouldn't be in here anyway," I add quietly. I watch him and wait for him to get his breathing under control.

I start to take off the brace. "Good," I tell him once his breathing is back to normal. I show him my wrist that he had hurt. It was swollen and looked awful. "I'm fine, see?"

He looks me in the eyes, we just sit there and he looks me in the eyes. I have to force my face not to get red. My stomach just starts to fill with butterflies. He's cute, laying there in the bed. Circumstances aside, it was kind of cute.

He quickly looks away from me and out the window.

I freeze, was he just in my mind? No, he has morals. He was just thinking about something else; right? But the eye contact would have made it easy for him to get in, right?

I don't know the first thing about telepathy. But if he just heard that I'd die.

"Look at me," I demand.

He won't he just looks out the window.

I touch his face and try to move his head so he has to look at me.

"It wasn't you." I try to pick up the one-sided conversation where it left off. "You weren't yourself. Yes, you did hurt me but, it wasn't you."

Then it hits me, the fight. "You remember it, don't you?"

He looks at the wall with the SHIELD symbol on it and slowly he nods his head.

I can't take it. He knows doesn't he? He heads my thought that says he was cute. I guess it's just better if I tell him aloud. "Um, Kai?" I take a deep breath.

He looks at me sleepily. He's worn out from being awake.

"I've been meaning to, talk to you about something." I miss with my hands. "And I'm not sure how to tell you… Or say it…"

We lock eyes again and I can't do it. I just can't do it, he's got enough on his plate, and he doesn't need more. I can just wait and talk to him later.

I feel my face get hot "You know what, Kai? It can wait. It was nothing." Now you're just talking to yourself, Anna. I pack up the trophy and stand up. "Right now you just need to rest and focus on getting better." And with that, I march out the door. Once I'm outside I let out a breath.

Cold sweat. I am covered in cold sweat.

"Smooth." A voice judges. "Very smooth."

I jump onto the ceiling and look to see Hope standing down the hallway. My face burns.

"What's smooth?" I ask.

"You, just in general," Hope says. "You know, Sabrina has been shipping you and Kai for the last four months. What has she been calling the two of you ?" Hope seemed to think to herself. "Something that sounded like cannon, or maybe it sounded more like Canada? Nah, I don't really care, you can ask her later if you want to know."

"So you…"

"Know?" Hope asks. "Yeah," she shrugs. "I may not be a telepath, but I don't need to be one. A good warrior is overly observant of their surroundings. I've seen very similar nervous behavior at school when girls talk to guys."

I let go and allow myself to fall to the ground. I want my face to slam into the ground, but… the doctors have their hands full with Kai.

I flip and land on the ground. "You won't say anything will you?"

"Nah, you're young, enjoy it," Hope says.

"What does that mean?" I ask slowly.

"I'm going to be married sooner than later. I've never had a boyfriend. Go ahead and enjoy being young and having a crush on Kai." Hope shrugs.

"I know. I just don't think he likes me back." I sigh.

"He likes you," Hope says easily. "Just in a different way. Kai likes people solely based on who they are. He's very accepting like that. It's good for him."

"It's good for anyone to be that accepting." I agree.

"I'm sorry about being so on edge and everything. I was just losing my mind." Hope sighs. "Kai is just so special. You know? Everyone in K'un-Lun knows Kai is special and important."

"How so?" I ask her.

"Think about. Kai is the only son of the king." Hope says as we start to walk down the hallway. "I think he'll be more favorable to inherit the throne than I will be. But that's ok because I have other things going for me in my favor. My magic, for example. I'll keep busy, magic is very important in K'un-Lun."

"So Kai will become the next King?" I clarify.

"In all likely hood, that is why I was so mad when the ship showed back up wrecked," Hope explained.

"Oh."

"If you want to come to K'un-Lun…" Hope begins. "I'll ask. Sabrina asked me too. So if you are still interested. I'll talk to my parents, make sure we are not in the middle of a war or something, and I'll get back to you. Your parents have to say it's ok."

I smiled to myself. "I'd like that."

Hope nods. "Good."

* * *

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	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine, my OCs and ideas.**

 **A/N: Ok, so I was thinking that this would be like half a chapter and then I would write another half chapter which will end up being the next chapter. I was flipping through Kai's book to see what else I should do. And then I remembered this and I thought I could do something with it, and looking back it was evil but the next chapter will be slightly happier. I promise nothing.**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218- I do have some fun pianos for Anna with K'un-Lun. I want to have fun with that because for her, loving technology and all, she is really just going to be out of her element. I know the crush feeling, I haven't had one but I have a lot of friends and some days it's just... Wow. Kai really is this sweet and overly sensitive person, and he really had the whole innocence about him, and still has it. I really hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 **Nobel Six- I always stride to write the best I can, I am glad that you are also enjoying it.**

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

* * *

It's been about two or so weeks.

I was just walking down the hallways. I was dressed as White Tiger and I was heading to meet up with Hope and everyone else in Kai's apartment to work on his surprise party.

I was in Kai's hospital room to check on him, but he had to have an MRI.

I have to make a quick stop at the court first because I have to get my gym bag. It's way out of the way, but it really beats having the self-dubbed "party planning expert", Sabrina, giving orders about how to prepare things for the party, which won't end up lasting as long as she thinks. Kai will just want to get some rest in his own bed.

I was walking by the detaining area when I heard voices, one was Octavius, and the other was...

"Kai." I mutter softly. He was fuming by the sounds of it. But what was he doing here? Why is he anywhere near that monster!

I feel my own blood boil as I touch my watch to record the conversation. Hope may want to hear this. Coulson and Fury too... Kai's going to be in trouble over this... But considering everything... I need to record it to be on the safe side...

 _Octavius: "I wanted a weapon, I have always wanted a weapon, an army. Why do think I have spent most of my life playing the villain? I want the heroes. I want their powers. I want the world."_

 _Kai:"You can't have the world, as long as people like me live, the world will never be yours. And if you do wipe this world of her heroes there are always more. The Immortal Weapons, the Asgardians, the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Watchers, the Nova Corps, the Wakandans, and the Inhumans; there are so many people who would come and fight you. Even if they were tucked away safely in their homes, unaffected by you. And those I have listed are just the good guys. Imagine all the other villains out in the world who would attempt to kill you for that spot. That top throne."_

 _Octavius: "And that is why I wanted a weapon, an Army. You were perfect. Except one of a kind. No one could survive your powers and you haven't even unlocked them all."_

 _Kai: "What are you talking about? I am certain I can't be the only one."_

 _Octavius: "Oh, you are, you sorry little brat."_

 _Kai: "How could you…"_

I hear my own heart stop. Kai's destroyed by these simple words. He has to be, his voice is broken, cracked, and it's painful to listen to. So painful... I lean against the wall where I was hiding, trying so hard not to cry. My hand is over my mouth. My eyes burn with tears.

 _Kai: "You are so heartless! No wonder you would leave for a long period of time! No wonder you were always so cheerful! I wasn't the only one was I?"_

It's worse now. He is just so broken. I want to comfort him... But how can I exactly do that? He's scared and powerful and dangerous.

I stop the recording and bury my face in my knees. I don't know anymore... Kai's a different person now... I don't know what to do...

It's all quiet for a while, I couldn't hear Kai and Octavius talking.

Kai's mind must be on fire. There is no way his world isn't on fire right now. He's dangerous and scared and... I feel like I don't know him anymore.

"I'm going to go get him." I mutter to myself.. I stand up straight.

I turned the corner and Kai was slumped in his wheelchair. "Kai!" I shout. "Kai get up!" I give him a hard shake. "What's wrong?"

I look over to Octavius. He was slumped over in his restraints.

"Spirit." I say into my watch. "Spirit!" I shout.

"What's wrong?" Spirit asks.

"Kai's unconscious. He is in the detaining wing and he's collapsed in his wheelchair in front of Octavius' cell. They were talking and I have it on recording. Octavius is also out of it. Kai must have done something."

"Right." Spirit nods. "Be right there."

I gently touch his neck to find a pulse. He's breathing, his pulse is slower. I touch his forehead too. He is warm, maybe near feverish. I stand up and bend over and wrap my arms around his neck.

"You worry me." I tell him softly. "You worry all of us."

Spirit runs around the corner and rushes up to us.

" 我會殺了你!" She shouts at Octavius before she notice he is unconscious. She looks to Kai. "He's inside Octavius' mind." She says softly. "真是個蠢材."

"What is he doing here?" She demands instantly turning to me. She doesn't seem to be directly mad at me.

"I don't know. We were hanging out and then the doctor said Kai had some tests to be run and then I left." I explain. "I was just walking to court and I heard him yelling. So I recording their conversation and then when it got quiet I looked and saw he was knocked out."

Hopes sighs. "Kocl-dnim." She whispers. I watched the mist slowly come from her hand and enter the cell. It wrap around Octavious head and the man screamed.

"Don't hurt him!" I exclaim. "Spirit, don't kill him!" I plead as I watch his pain. "Spirit!" I shout.

I can't see her eyes, but her expression was unreadable. She seems to be in a trance. "Ecnalgata-ep-a-csdnim." Hope says more. I know she is killing him. I know she is going to end this. She's been through too much.

"Spirit, stop it!" I shout. "You can't kill him. I know you want to!"

She looks over at me as the mists swirl around her, lifting her off the ground. Her eyes plates are glowing. Glowing eyes...

"Coulson." I mutter to my watch. "I have a situation. And I need some help." I mutter meekly.

Hope's hair flies in every direction and she extends a hand at Octavius. She seems to be completely emerged in what she is doing. "Edis-ni-eht-emwohs."

I have got no clue what I am going to do. I look at my hands. Maybe I could snap her out of it if I scratched her.

"Spirit, come on I don't want to have to hurt you, but I don't know what else to do." I yell at her.

I rush at her and her hand turns to look at me. I feel fear shoot through my veins. Her glare nearly stops me in my tracks. No, Anna. Have to help the situation.

I jump at Hope and take my shot. A clean cut across her upper arm. Her costume tears and I see her blood rushing to the wound.

Hope doesn't flinch or react. "Tcet-orpydob." She says her voice was now many voices she was using so much power. Her free hand points out toward me.

A shock wave shoots out and knocks me into a wall. "Not cool." I mutter.

I notice Kai is still right next to her, he is sitting in his wheelchair. He was unaffected by Hope's magic. I watched him for a minute and I noticed that he was moving, his face was twitching, he squeezed his eyes shut and looked as if he was in pain.

"Spirit! Stop this! Now! This is wrong!" I scream at her. "You're hurting your brother!"

I hear something on the other side of her. "Help." I mutter to myself.

"Tcet-orpydob. Hope says again, her hand that she had pointed at me was not pointed at whoever had just shown up. They had the same shock wave effect that I had endured.

"Dnims-iht-fo-tuoo-tiak." Hope speaks. "Dnims-iht-fo-tuoo-tiak!" She repeats in a yell.

I look over and I can't see Octavius anymore. I watch Hope take a deep breath. I rush at her again I can feel the amulet pulsating. Come on Anna...

The protective mists around her make it hard to get closer to her.

"Yawa-edis-nist-erc-ese-htdnadn-imsiht-kcol!" Each syllable is slow and strong. Everything was said with power.

I feel the amulet getting angry like me. I feel it and feel this cold strength inside of my legs. I watch as I begin to move faster. I smile as I rush at Hope with loads of speed and I grab her arm and try to pull her down.

Ok, I didn't think I would get this far. I was able to get to her, but now how to get her to stop.

Hope's hair stops flying and I let go her body drops to the ground and I let go. I cup my hands over her mouth, can't let her talk anymore.

Hope slowly sits up and I let her move, but I don't take my hands away.

She pulls of her mask and looks at me quizzically.

"Anna?"She mumbles.

I pull back. "Are you ok?" I ask slowly.

"Yes." Hope replies.

"Ok, good." I let out a breath of relief. "WHAT ON EARTH WAS THAT?" I can't help but hear myself scream. "WHAT DID YOU DO? TELL ME NOW!"

Hope sits up and pulls up her legs and rubs her back. She then looked at her arm. She looked at me bitterly. "What did YOU do is the better question." She says calmly pulling back her hand, it was now blood stained.

"Kai was in his mind." Hope pointed at Octavius. "I got him out. And locked Kai out. He shouldn't be anywhere near Octavious, let alone inside his mind. That may be where our answers are but, my brother's safety comes first.

"I think, I have a recording of the two of them before Kai pulled his stunt." I tell her quietly. "It could explain some stuff."

Hope didn't look at me. Coulson had taken Kai back to the infermary. I had just noticed. But Hope's attention was on her arm. She was looking at her cut.

"You attacked me." She decided quietly. "Did you really think I was going to kill him?" She asked me like I was crazy. "Come on."

"I didn't know what you were saying. And I don't know what your spells mean!" I say annoyed, "I had every reason to think you were trying to kill him!"

Hope gets to her feet and puts her mask back on. "我很欣赏你的关心." She says darkly.

I kind of hate Chinese now. She can say anything she wants and almost no one here will know.

"Let's go hear this recording." She says as she starts to walk away.

* * *

We were all in the debriefing room, and by all I mean Coulson, Hope, and myself; I think this is a little too sensitive to share right now. Hope had just finished playing the recording for the third time.

"Others?" She asked. "So there were other people being held in those labs."

"Yes, but by the looks of things, none of them would be alive right now." Coulson adds. "SHIELD did not find anyone else when we explored the compound three days after we rescued Kai."

"Nothing?" I ask. I was fiddling with Kai's birthday present. Well the prototype of the actual gift, I'm going to use a 3-D printer to make the finished product. Screwing in a loose screw and making sure it was done correctly. I placed down my Phillips head screwdriver. "Absolutely nothing? No signs of life or where they would be kept?"

"No signs of any other people being in the compound." Coulson says looking at his papers. "But our scientists are looking at what remains of the mind control technology. They think he would kidnap them, take them to another location, do whatever he did and hen wipe them of what happened and send them back to their normal life. This is, of course, all in theory."

"But what was the control?" I ask slowly.

"Again, this is in theory; some of our agents believe that the control device is implanted in Octavius himself, nothing for us to find. No notes in any of his research." Coulson explained. "They had hoped that Kai would have some answers or use his telepathy to get them."

"Kai is not aloud to get near Octavius under any conditions." Hope growls bitterly. "It is for his own good."

"Also, regarding Kai we were going to have a psychiatrist or psychologist to come see him. And assess his state; see if we can learn anything how he is doing mentally." Coulson explained to Hope. I quickly went back to tinkering with my gift. This is none of my beeswax.

Hope doesn't say anything. "Alright."

"Anna, would you mind letting Hope and I discuss this in private?" Coulson asks.

"Yeah, sure. I'll be in my Dad' slab if you need anything." I say gathering my things and getting up.

Kai... You really just need to get better.

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and ideas.**

 **A/N: OK, so I have not got to sit down at my computer and write all week. I am completely serious. So I will be updating my profile to say when the other stories will be updated. I'm really sorry about missing all the dates. I really do try to make the deadlines I set for myself, but that does not always happen. Anyway, this chapter is so much happier than the rest. Please enjoy! And please leave a review!**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218 - Actually, not a lot of fandom stuff. Hope likely had a hand in that. I forgot about that part and how much I could play into that. And the whole "Start" now that the idea is going… I think I like it. I did not have that idea when I wrote that chapter. (Evil smile) interesting how this all works. Kai's better in this chapter. Or at least distracted and not focused on his injuries.  
I think the adrenaline rush is what that was. Sometimes you know it is just the worst time. Hope and Anna are on strained terms because Hope is so protective and Anna is just always right there and I don't know. Image your little brother, who has the weight of the world on him, gets kidnapped and all this stuff happens to him. I think it's a natural protective instinct.  
Alright, enjoy!**

 **marissamtz03 - Glad you like this chapter and I hope you enjoy this next one! Enjoy!**

 **Nobel Six - Thanks for the praise and constant support. Enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

* * *

June 28th - Today is Kai's Birthday

"Alright, Hope and Kai will be arriving in no more than ten minutes," Sabrina announced. "So everyone final touches!"

I was standing next to Piper in the kitchen, we had made a small cake. Hope had pointed out Kai couldn't really eat too much after we had trashed the kitchen. Plus, he likely doesn't want to eat much. I was really tempted to ask about the therapist, he is supposed to be seeing, but I don't think that is information I need to know.

Kai's apartments looked really good. His huge window had been replaced with super strong glass and it could change when tapped to block out light and such. It had to be done and it was a nice touch.

He had some nice gifts too. Sabrina had got him some flannel shirts. She had been happy to show me. Piper had gotten him two different compression sleeves for his leg. Danielle and Drake had gotten him an iTunes gift card. Hope I don't think got him anything. And me? I had made him a new prosthetic leg. This one was an athletic one. It was much more compact and simpler with no technology and strings attached. It was much simpler. It was like the kind designed for running.

The decorations were simple; balloons and streamers. The place looked really good. The plan was that the party was only going to last about two hours because we need to let Kai get his rest.

"Lights out," Sabrina announced. "Everybody get ready!"

We all wait for a minute. The door opened and then the lights click on by Hope. She was pushing Kai in his wheelchair.

"Happy Birthday!" We all call out randomly.

Kai smiles he seems a little better now stronger. And in much better mood.

I walked up and give him a hug. "Happy birthday, old man. How old are you now?"

I watch him. Not expecting an answer.

"Hello to you too Anna, I'm thirteen." He says quietly.

It takes me a minute he is finally talking and he seems to be a shadow of his old self but he seems to be better. "Happy birthday," I say again.

Hope wheels him over toward the couch

"Happy Birthday, Kaito!" Piper says enthusiastically from the arm of the couch.

"Thanks, Piper," Kai says softly.

"What do you think?" Danielle asks quickly.

"It's all very nice," Kai says softly.

"Great!" Sabrina says, walking over. She was in her Camp-Half Blood T-Shirt.

"So, we aren't planning on staying too long, just a while because you need to rest," Piper explained to plan to Kai as he snuck looked around

"Thanks, that would be great," Kai smiles at her weakly. He seems really tired.

"So, we got you some gifts and some food. I don't think you'd be up for much more." Drake says, looking at Kai for a second like he had grown a second head.

"Let's get this par-ty, star-ted!" I say, trying to break the tension. It's his birthday. He needs to be happy and relaxed. It is painful to see him like this.

* * *

The party had officially ended an hour ago. I was still hanging around to help clean everything up. It was a mess here. So I figured that if I cleaned up it would help.

Kai was laying on the couch with his oxygen mask on to help him breathe some.

"You look content, I'm glad you are talking again. And I'm glad you're healing." I smile over at him. I feel my face heat up.

"Thanks." Kai turns onto his back and smiles at me.

I have to smile back. "I'm sorry I've been running off while you were in the Hospital. I was just scared, really scared. I felt being in the room with you was making you weaker, you just seemed so, you seemed like you were made of glass."

"I felt like shattered glass." Kai jokes He gives a sad smile.

I relax some. I had been so tensed up. "If you can joke about it, I guess you're getting over it?"

Kai doesn't answer, he just looks at me and then his hand goes up to touch his head. He lets out a moan of pain and starts to curl into a ball; his legs come up and tuck into his chest. His other hand goes up and he holds his hair tightly.

I start to rub his back as his eyes swell up with tears. I wipe my own eyes. Something is going on inside of there. His mind. His world. "It's ok, Kai. It's over." I mutter to him.

"It's ok, Kai. It's over." I repeat. His eyes slowly open.

"Kai, breathe," I instruct him slowly and carefully. I feel numb inside.

"I know it's over," I can hardly hear him speak.

He looks at me as if wanting me to confirm what he just said. I give him a slight nod.

He slowly stretches his joints out. "Sorry, that happens every now and then." He says weakly.

"It's alright Kai, I swear, it's fine," I smile at him and give him a hug around the neck, all he needs is support. "Everything's better now. You're safe and recovering."

"It's still all so... the memories are so dark and powerful in my mind." He sighs. He's opening up some. I smile to myself and I give him one more squeeze and then pull back, putting my hands in my lap. I feel my face get hot.

It is quiet for a while.

"What have you been trying to tell me?" Kai asks me softly. "You haven't brought it up in a while. But I remember there was something."

"I'm sorry?" I ask. What is he talking about?

"Every time you left me in the hospital wing you said you needed to tell me something, but then you left," he explains to me. "What was it? I'm not glass anymore. I'm stronger. Whatever it is you can tell me."

I have done that too many times. And he remembers it. I don't want to tell him. My stomach twists into knots. "Uh, Kai… Do you really want to know?"

"Yes," Kai's voice is calm. He takes off the oxygen mask and sits up some on the couch.

I sigh. I look him in the eyes and freeze. So uncomfortable… "Um… I'm going to go… you should get some sleep." I swiftly stood and started to leave.

I don't make it out of the door, my hand in on the doorknob, I stop and I can't move. None of my muscles will work. I let out a quick gasp.

"Anna, what's wrong with you?" Kai asks. "Why won't you talk to me?" He seems really hurt that I just want to leave.

I feel my control again. If this is what he is going to do to keep me here, then I can't leave without him knowing. He'll enter my mind if I keep this up, at one point he will just go the source, won't he?

I straighten my shirt. "I don't know, this wasn't supposed to last this long. I thought you would only be here a week. I didn't think you'd stay, and I just figured you were normal. I should have known you're not. It's just I died…" I freeze my explanation, foot in mouth moment, internal face-palm.

"Felt like I died." I correct myself. "Kai, I missed you so much. I just… I shouldn't have… but… I just let myself think things." I slowly walk back over to him.

"I love you," Kai mutters to himself. His eyebrows are scrunched together. "Is that what you're trying to say?" He asks me.

Did he just say he loves me or was he asking if that was what I meant…? I feel my face heat up. "I guess?" I don't know how to respond to him.

He reaches out and mindless takes my hand. "Come on, you know what you think." He smiles, but it is so serious. He pulls my hand and I sit on the couch next to him.

Just kiss him, Anna… Just kiss him and then you don't have to say anything. What's the worst that will happen? Um… Nope! Not going to think about it

Leap of Faith. "Then, yes." I close my eyes and lean in to kiss him.

I really should have seen his next move coming. I really should have seen it coming.

"Anna, I can't," he says bluntly and gives me a push backward. So I can't kiss him.

"What?" I ask. My face heats up so much. He said he loved me right? I mean… I thought we had a kind of understanding. And… I want to die in a hole.

"I'm not allowed to date, have a relationship like that. It's part of my culture." Kai explains slowly. "It's who I am. I can't help it. I can feel however I want, and you are really special and I really care about you... I just… I shouldn't kiss you…" Kai looked like a guilty puppy.

It's quiet and I just watch him. "Um, ok… this is awkward."

Kai looks really guilty. "I'm sorry."

"You know your people are really weird," I smile. I feel so stupid. This is so awkward and this would have been so much fun. We make a great team… well… um… we haven't tried, but I think we would make a great team, I don't know yet.

"To me, your people are really weird," he informs me.

We both laugh at this. It's good. Kai can laugh.

My mind keeps going back to thinking, are we a good team? I mean…

"So, how about an in-the-middle thing? Sort of dating, sort of not?" I ask. "And like once you get better we go on patrols and such. Be a team or something." I want to know how we would work together.

"That could work." Kai agrees.

I hug him again. And as the words come from my mouth, I feel stupid. "I love you, Kaito Rand-K'ai, I really do, and I don't expect this to last forever. You have your full life ahead of you and I have mine. You have K'un-Lun and I have New York. I want this to work. I don't just want to be your friend."

"Then we'll make a deal," Kai says, he seems a whole lot better when he is thinking about his injuries and such. "We'll let this be what it is for now. And when stuff happens, and I have to go home, we stay friends. I'll contact you using my mind and we'll stay friends."

I give him a nod. "Best Friends." I look him over; gray sweatpants with one leg cut off and a blue soft oversized T-shirt. This is Kai, at least how I remember him. Right? This is the cute prince I fell in love with.

I don't know.

"That would be nice." Kai agrees.

There's a loud knock at the door.

"Who's that?" I ask him.

"Your mom, here to pick you up." He replies.

"You're ok to stay here by yourself, right?" I ask him slowly.

"Yes, Anna, do not worry about me. Orson is asleep on my bed. I'm going in there to get some rest in a bit.

I give him a nod. "Alright." I give him one more time. "I'll see you later then. When you get stronger we'll go out to dinner somewhere, I don't care if it's nice or not. I owe you for helping me with the science fair." A date so to speak…

"Alright." Kai agrees. "Sounds great."

I walk out the door and Mom smiles at me. "How was the party?" She asked.

"It was nice," I smile. "I think Kai may be feeling better."

"I hope so for his sake." Mom replies. "He needs to get better, I know people don't heal overnight, but… we're all ready for this to be over."

"You have no idea," I reply. "None."

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and ideas.**

 **A/N: So, I've been on vacation and as there turns out there is no better place to work on Fanfiction than and airplane and an airport with a few hours of layover. The sarcasm is real. Anyway, I loved this chapter and it was fun to write. Some embarrassment, some tension, questions, and awkward Anna. Neon will update soon as well, I just wanted to do this first. I've been playing with Kai's character some; Anna takes note at his behavior changes. Anyway, I like where this is going, I am planning for some fun and then to cut to the chase and the real plot. Enjoy!**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218- I live! I feel like I haven't updated in forever even though I have written a little bit each day. So, got to get back into this. Anna is really sweet and wants what is best for Kai, even if she can't do much about it.**  
 **Well... bad news about knowing what comes next. I have finished recapping the last book and now, the future is mostly unknown.**  
 **Anyway, I am going to keep this short so I can get to the chapter! Enjoy!**

 **CanisHeroine- Sort of. My sister is a bigger fan than I am.**

 **Nobel Six- Glad you enjoyed this! I enjoy a good heartbreaking scene now and then. Continue to enjoy the story!**

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

* * *

Ok, so it's been a week since Kai turned thirteen. And I swear we are avoiding each other. I've hardly seen him. Although a better explanation is that he is hardly leaving his room because he is still recovering.

After the whole we can't date and I kind of spilled my heart to him, I just can't force myself to face him. That's also part of the problem.

Now I have to face him... I have to drop off some drugs and while I'm at it, I'm going to stay for a while as ask about what I should pack for K'un-Lun. I'm finally going to get around to talking to Kai. And I'm a little panicky right now. He knows how I feel about him. And he could easily break my heart; he's holding it in his hands. It's nerve wracking.

I've been standing at his door for three minutes. I haven't even knocked yet.

The doorknob makes a noise and the door opened. Kai sat in his wheelchair looking up at me.

"Anna, would you like to come in or stare at the door some more?" Kai asks me softly. His tone was confused and hesitant. So different from the screaming recording I still hand on my watch… why do I still have that?

I blink. "I'll come in if that's fine. Don't want to intrude."

Kai wheels himself back into the room and moves so he can levitate himself onto the couch. There was a woman in his living room, she was rather tall and skinny and her brown hair was tied up in a bun. She wore jeans and a loose oversized shirt and she wore nerd glasses. She had her legs crossed and was reading or writing something on a notepad.

"Am I interrupting something?" I ask slowly as Kai levitates himself onto the couch.

Kai looks at me. "No." He replies quietly. "Nothing too important."

"You must be Anna!" The woman stands and places her notes down. She walks over to me and shakes my hand. "I've worked with your mother before! I'm Isabella."

I can't decide if she is a psychologist or psychiatrist. And which is worse.

Ok, the psychiatrist is worse. I think that is the one who does mental illnesses. And Kai doesn't have any mental illnesses. Just loads of trauma. I don't bother to ask. I don't want to be seen as rude.

I just smile back at her.

"What did you need Anna?" Kai asks me. His voice seems rough now that I hear it more.

"I was just coming by to um, drop off some medications from the med-wing. They said that you would know what to do with it." I place it down on the table. "Also if it's not too much trouble... about next week...?"

Kai's look cuts me off. _'Can we talk about that later?'_ He asks me mentally. He looks over the Isabella hesitantly.

"Just give me a call or text later," I say quickly. Kai had me worried. "Um... so... do you need anything, Kai?" I ask softly. "I can leave if you need me to..."

"That would be nice," Isabella says as politely as she can. "I don't want to be rude but I would like to get back to working with Kai." It's not rude or anything if she is helping Kai that is great!

But... um... is she helping Kai or hurting him? Kai didn't want to tell her about next week...

"Are you all good, Kai?" I ask slowly.

"Yes, Anna." He says softly.

I want to just start being his therapist myself. I know him better than some people. I'm willing to bet he's just making up stuff to tell her.

"Before I go, you don't need your sister or anything right?" I offer him. Am I just awkwardly repeating myself?

Yes, Anna… you are.

"No, I'm fine. She was in here earlier. I've got Orson in here. He'll get her if something happens." Kai says. "Thank you though."

"Well, I'll see you later," I say quickly. "Nice to meet you, Isabella." I give them both a wave and see myself out.

I stand outside the door for a while and then I look at the ceiling. I am a wreck.

* * *

"Guanyin, please be patient with me!" Hope exclaimed.

Whoever she is, be patient with me too... I sigh inwardly. Longest flight ever... and Kai had not been much company... I still haven't asked about Isabella. I don't want to upset Kai... he seems to have been really delicate lately.

Kai looked up at Hope and smiled. "I am certain she always is."

"Who?" I ask them confused. If I'm asking her to be patient with me too... this will be some good information to have.

"The Chinese goddess of mercy," Kai explains softly. "It is common in K'un-Lun to speak to the gods of different Asian cultures when you need something. Nothing happens. It's just something that we do. Although they are just symbols, in K'un-Lun they are important." Kai took a breath, "also, Sabrina. It bothers Hope when you call K'un-Lun 'Chinatown,' ok? I have never been to 'Chinatown' but I know K'un-Lun is much better."

This has been a long plane ride. It was almost over. Kai wasn't taking it too well he told me he was likely to spend a day in bed after all of the traveling that he has done.

I felt bad for him. He had fallen asleep many times. And he would be out for hours at a time with his head in Hope's lap and a blanket was thrown over his body.

Not to mention he is still severely underweight. His new attire has been sweatpants and an oversized shirt that had either a band name or something like that on it. Today the pants were gray and the shirt was black and read; "Fall Out Boy" across the top. It's a gift from Piper, clearly. She is into that kind of music.

I think it's cute that he has given up on looking nice. I mean he needs a haircut. His hair is now notably past his shoulders. I think it needs to be cut back to his ears.

I had also been relentlessly teased about Kai when he was asleep. Kai had apparently told Hope what had happened after the party. And then in front of me, Hope replayed it back to Sabrina. And there were stops to tease me throughout the story.

Kai looked at me and tilted his head. I blinked a few times. I had been lost in a trance and missed the conversation.

"What about you Anna?" Sabrina asked.

"What?" I ask. I had missed it.

"What are you looking forward to most?" Sabrina asks again.

"I don't know. It will be cool just to be in K'un-Lun." I reply. "I want to see the architecture and the market or city or whatever."

"On the right days, the market is perfect," Kai mutters leaning into Hope's side and closing his eyes. "我覺得很噁心。" Kai mutters.

"我們將很快回家。" Hope replies to him softly.

I wish I spoke Chinese. I now I will be wishing that a lot soon. When we get there.

"What's the palace like?" Sabrina asks after some quiet.

"Castle," Kai corrects. He seems to be on it so someone so out of it.

"A palace is just where the royal family lives. A castle is that plus a fortified wall and other buildings." Hope explains. "We also have a bathhouse and stables and the servant quarters."

"What's the castle like?" I ask again.

"Beautiful. It is amazing compared to anything in New York. Anything." Hope smiled. "I can't wait to go home and have my old life back for some time. If only a week."

"Yeah. The elegant parties and servants and nobility and the suitors." Sabrina teased.

Hope's face flushed complete red. "Absolutely not."

"你說，安理會希望看到你結婚不久。" Kai mutters sleepily.

"That is none of your concern!" Hope shouts at him. Kai just smirks in response. He groans and tries to make himself more comfortable.

"Yes, it is." Kai mutters.

"What did you say?" Sabrina asked.

"Like Hope said 'none of your concern'." Kai yawns.

I smile. I feel this one is forced. Kai just seems so different now. I can't help but feel he is being the slightest bit sarcastic. Which doesn't fit how I remember him...

Anna, you have to remember he's been through so much. Awaking more powers he has very little control over. And then he spent two months being traumatized and experimented on.

I guess he is bound to change. After all, he's been through... I look over at Kai and watch him as he slowly starts to fall asleep.

He's... changed now. I don't know.

I still love him. Right?

Right! Why am I questioning myself?

I still love him! And that's what matters isn't it?

* * *

Another seven hours later... I was sleep walking in a cave...

Hope explained something about the portal. I wasn't listening. Still too tired.

Hope walked Sabrina and I up to the portal and without any warning shoved me through.

Walking, or more correctly being shoved, through the portal hurt me, actually. It was the most sickening feeling I had ever had known growing in my stomach. I felt awful but I have to go back through the portal to get home.

Needless to saw it was a great wake up.

"Good evening Princesses Hope. Prince Kai. Good to see you both." A voice startled me instantly. I was lying on my stomach on the ground with my bag next to me Sabrina had also landed face first.

"You as well, Master Hiroshi." Hope's voice replied easily. She looked down at us. "Did you to hear a word I told you on the other side?" She asked.

"Sorry, I was busy sleeping..." I grumbled standing up and helping Sabrina to her feet.

"Who are your guests?" The voice asked. I looked up and saw a tall and muscular man standing near the portal. He was intimidating, to say the very least. Completely decked out in armor, and I instantly noticed his swords. He likely had more weapons hidden.

"This is Anna-Grace Parker," Hope replied motioning to me. Then she turned to Sabrina. "And this is Sabrina Olivia Smith."

The man looks us both over. "Royal guests?"

"Yes, Master." Hope agrees.

He stiffly bows to both of us. We look at each other and then quickly and horribly bow back to him. Our hands folded together whatever way we could manage.

"We have a carriage waiting to take you back to the palace." Master Hiroshi says easily. "Knowing of your brother's condition, Hope, your mother sent something for you to ride in."

"That's nice." I looked back to see this time it was Kai who had responded. He wasn't looking too happy. Either tired or depressed.

Master Hiroshi seems quite aware of Kai's condition. He had an eye on Kai, watching him lean on his crutches and looking weak. "Let's start heading home. It is a long way and, Kai, you look like you need a healer. Kasumi is preparing to treat you when you arrive in your room."

Kai gave a slight nod. "Yes, Master." He swayed a little back and forth. Orson, who I hadn't seen earlier, walks up to him and offered Kai some support.

I'm confused. Who is Kasumi? Who is this guy? How on earth does he speak English? I don't hear the all-speak accent. What time is it? When does this sick feeling wear off? And when can I get to bed?

Hope hands Master Hiroshi Kai's bag. And then she turns to him. "你認為你能走樓梯？因為你不喜歡，你可以管理。"

Kai looks at the staircase that looks to be the only way out. "樓梯..." His voice is a strained groan. "我做不到。我會傳遞出我們打前半程。即使我用我的心靈感應。"

"知道什麼時候認輸。" Hope smiles at him.

"你應該教導你的妹妹，啟。" Master Hiroshi adds on.

Kai nods and then passes his crutches off to Master Hiroshi and then Hope picks him up on her back. Kai wrapped his arms around her neck and then laid his head down on her shoulders.

Master Hiroshi started up the stairs first with Hope following him and Sabrina and I follow.

More questions keep piling up in my head as we walked. Concerns about what we were going to eat and stay. And other things like that. What am I going to wear? Where am I sleeping at night? How much of a tourist am I going to look like? And this 'Master Hiroshi' character? Who is he? Did he train Hope? Is that why she calls him 'Master'?

There were well over two hundred stairs. By the time we reached the top Kai was asleep.

Sabrina almost started a loud complaint about how Kai could possibly be tired after being carried but I slapped her before she could start.

When we got the top we were inside some building.

Master Hiroshi spoke to some guards, by the reaction he received- Master Hiroshi must be important. But in the light, I noticed other things about him. He's a pretty big person and he walked with a cane and a limp. I stared at him with a slack jaw but recovered it before he could notice.

When we walked outside there was a carriage as promised. Another person stood there, when he saw us he made his way as fast as possible and help Hope get Kai into the carriage.

When I finally made it over they had got Kai comfortable and the teenager bowed to Hope quickly. He stated bent over and took one of her hands and kissed that back of it.

Hope spoke softly in Chinese. And he replied standing back up normally.

I took a deep breath. I haven't even been here an hour... And I am already confused...

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and ideas.**

 **A/N: This is one long chapter… reaching over 3000 words. So I am very please. I like this chapter although it gets a little busy. Epically for Anna who is trying to keep up with everything. Some appearances you may not have seen coming, and a new character; all in this chapter! Wow, I think I over did it! No such thing. Anyway I want to get to the chapter. Many good ideas to continue this story are just flying in my head. And next chapter: I think that I am going to add a BIG reveal. Any guesses? Anyway enjoy! Read and Review!**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218-** **The feeling is not over yet. There is still more to come from the trauma. I am also going to introduce my K'un-Lun cast; I even have a new character in this chapter who is going to be important in other stories even if not in a major role.**  
 **For the most part you can easily translate what is said between Kai and Hope using an online translator. Kai doesn't mention anything more than 'the council wants to see you wed soon' or something like that.**  
 **I am also looking forward to their relationship growing in whatever direction it does. It's hard for them due to the trauma and other different factors. And the whole K'un-Lun thing will be interesting with how natural it comes to Kai and Hope and they just go about it as normal life while Anna stands there asking "What?"**  
 **Anyway I am super excited for everything going on and all that is to come! Even a few surprises. Enjoy!**

 **Nobel Six- Here it is! Next Chapter! Enjoy!**

SPARE NOTE: All-Speak will be written in **Bold** and _Italic_

* * *

 **Chapter 13**

* * *

That night Hope had taken us straight to spare guest room. It was huge. Two beds, two desks, two side tables, a huge fireplace, a window seat! This was amazing, I could live here.

Hope said she would be back to get us in the morning, and that the bathroom was down the hallway. She also said not to talk to anyone.

And with that, she was gone.

Sabrina had been super excited to be here. She was bouncing off the walls. I got my pajamas out and changed behind a room divider. I climbed into my bed and, like Hope suggested, pulled the curtains around the bed shut to preserve warmth.

As much as my mind was racing I easily fell asleep.

When I woke up I was incredibly comfortable. The sheets were silk and the pillows felt like clouds. And the bed was maybe Queen sized. I didn't want to get up, the feel was so magical.

I lay in my bed for a while just enjoying the situation. I'm in this magical place. I'm a Royal Guest. This is amazing.

"Up and at them." Hopes voice said outside. "Come on Anna, you already slept in."

I pulled back the curtains and placed my feet on the cold ground.

Hope passed me a dress and pointed me to the room divider to change. I changed; I needed help getting into the dress. It wasn't easy.

Hope took us to the dining hall to eat. It was just the three of us. Apparently, it was later in the morning. Hope had already training this morning. We had to appear before King Danny after we ate.

"We have to what?" Sabrina asked. "Isn't he the KING?"

"Yes, so what?" Hope asked. "It's just my dad."

"Royal Court! This is so cool!" Sabrina squealed.

"Not really Court." Hope shakes her head, "and you too may not stay long. My Dad has to review the information SHIELD sent on Kai. You two will not be welcomed to listen to that."

"How has Kai been doing?" I ask softly.

"You should ask him," Hope replies. "It's not been good news so far."

I place my bowl down. "Food's good here."

"Let's talk gallantry and civility," Hope says strictly. "No talking out of turn, no out bursting questions, deep bows. My parents can both be quite informal and they both speak perfect English. And before is shocks you Sabrina; my father is blond."

"Wait... Isn't this an Asia cultures place?" Sabrina asked. "That's really weird."

"Yes," Hope replies.

"How?" She asks.

Hope just shrugs. "If you guys are done eating we should head up to the office." She stands up easily.

"Right." I agree.

* * *

There was yelling inside what was apparently the King's office. I didn't understand the Chinese but it was loud and giving me a headache.

There was one final yell and the doors opened and my heart jumped out of my chest in fear.

A... Um... Figure walked out. Not even five feet tall. Um... She...? She was blue. She wore a beautiful dress that reached to the floor. Her ears! They stuck out at least two inches tall. And... Her skin... Looked like scales...

I swallowed as she approached. I have no idea who she is. I try to think. Have I seen her somewhere? I have that feeling but if I met her before, I have a feeling I would know.

She walks over to where we were all sitting.

" ** _He's in a mood, again._** " She grumbled.

" ** _It would help if you kept your mouth shut,_** " Hope replied. They were speaking All-Speak.

" ** _Meh_**." The blue girl shrugged. She couldn't have been much older than me. Her attention snapped to me and Sabrina. " ** _Who are they?_** " Her eyes were two different colors one was blue and the other green.

Hope looked over at us and frowned. We both made no attempt to hide what we were thinking in our expressions. We were both really confused and scared.

" ** _Rude_**." She scoffed.

Hope cleared her throat. " ** _This is Sabrina Olivia Smith._** " She first motioned to Sabrina.

Then she looked to me; " ** _This is Anna-Grace Parker._** "

" ** _Parker_**?" The blue girl cut in. She walked closer and looked over at me. She scanned me up and down. " ** _Hm... Interesting. Peter and..._** " She trailed off. A toothy smile crossed her face. " ** _Ava_**."

She had fangs. Four really sharp teeth. She took in a deep breath through her nose. " ** _She smells like Web-Fluid and the Amulet alright_**." I reached for my wrist. I had a Web-Shooter fully loaded. And I'm also getting freaked out here.

"夜的夫人，先不谈这个可怜的姑娘。" A new voice said. A woman stood in the entrance way. She wasn't dressed up fancy. She wore a simple dress and looked tired and timid. But her eyes showed there was more going on in her mind, and that she was really tired.

Hope was laughing now as if this was the most entertaining thing on Earth. " ** _And this is the great Lady Rhynisha Azurmalachite, Dragon Lord of the Night. She is my aunt._** "

"On what side?" Sabrina asked alarmed. No censorship at all.

" ** _Her father's side. A pleasure to meet you both. You may call me Ryu. Anything else really gets on my nerves._** " 'Ryu' extended a hand to both of us to give a handshake. Which seemed way too modern for everything around us. But we both shook her hand politely. Both really hesitant to touch her. Her hands were human with scales and dragon fingernails. Her hand had an interesting texture. The back of her hand had hard scales and her palms were soft and had normal skin.

The other women who just walked in, came over, and stood stiffly near the couches were we sat.

"Who's this?" I asked pointing to her. She didn't seem to understand me. She looked at me and gave a soft smile.

" ** _Nanda. She doesn't understand you. She doesn't speak English._** " Ryu said easily. " ** _Evening, Nanda._** " She said quickly.

"而你，夜的夫人。" Nanda replied with a swift bow.

Ryu made a sour face. " ** _It is just Ryu._** "

The doors to the office opened and a man walked out. Looked at Ryu with what seemed to be disgust and then kept walking.

" ** _Humans,_** " Ryu grumbled under her breath.

Hope glared at her. " ** _Be nice._** "

Ryu looked Hope over. " ** _You've changed since I last saw you. How old are you now?_** "

" ** _Seventeen_** ," Hope replied.

" ** _Who is looking into your hand?_** " Ryu asked.

Hope glowed red.

And with this Ryu burst out laughing. I think I've seen her somewhere in a picture. I... I had... But I had always assumed... Hm... That's not...

" ** _What is it, Parker?_** " Ryu asked.

"What?" I ask alarmed.

" ** _You are staring at me._** " Ryu sighs. " **Do you have something you want to say?** "

"Um... I've seen you before... in pictures ... and um... I never thought that this was your natural... Err... State. Is it?" I ask.

Ryu growled. " ** _If it is?_** "

"Nothing." I look at my lap.

" ** _Don't ask about that, Anna,_** " Hope warns. " ** _It's a Dragon Lord thing._** "

"Right," I mutter.

It's awkward for a while. Kai is not here. I wish he were here so he could explain to me what Ryu's deal is. And tell me who Nanda is.

He's up in his room apparently, recovering from the trip with the healer who was mentioned earlier and I don't remember the name of...

I'll just go through the list:

Ryu- I don't think I will forget her. She has fangs, a tail, different color eyes, she is blue, and covered in scales, she also has elf ears...

Nanda- Nothing special so far.

Hiroshi- Master. Apparently, speaks English.

June? Jon? Jun?- Whatever his name is... Hiroshi's kid. Doesn't speak English.

The Healer- I don't even know her name.

The large double doors opened once more and someone walks out. I want to guess it is Queen Aiko. Just a guess.

She is wearing the most beautiful dress I have seen yet. It was green and golden. The dress reached to the floor and was made from silk and had a beautiful design on the left side. A golden dragon climbed the side of the dress. Her hair was pulled out of her face and reached down to her waist like some anime girl. She hardly looked old enough to be a mother of a young child. Let alone Hope, who is 17 years old.

Now that I look at her more I do recognize her. She is beautiful.

She walked over and Hope bowed. Then moment Hope stood up she was hugged tightly.

When the pair pulled back hope was kissed on the forehead.

She turned to me and Sabrina with a soft smile. " ** _Your friends?_** " She asked. Her voice held the All-Speak accent.

"Yes, ma'am," I replied quickly.

" ** _You look like your father in the eyes, Anna._** " Queen Aiko smiled. " ** _Do you get told that often?_** "

I froze. This was just out of the blue. Something she had randomly commented on. "Uh... not a lot actually."

She looks back at Hope. " ** _You have your brother's files?_** "

" ** _That's what this is,_** " Hope shows her the files.

" ** _Well, please come in._** " She motions us in.

The office was amazing. It was so beautiful. The walls were covered in tapestries. In the back of the long rectangular steps was a large desk and a man was there looking over a paper. He's blond.

He looked up. His expression was at first very neutral, maybe even a little irritated. But when he spotted Hope, his expression broke and he smiled at us.

Hope stopped us a few feet away and she walked up to the desk, she bowed deeply and placed down her folder.

King Danny took her hand and kissed it lightly. He held Hope's hand and his mouth moved to say something. I couldn't hear it but something told me there was a high chance it was in Chinese.

Hope nodded before taking her hand back and walking back to where Sabrina and I stood.

Nanda was near us, Ryu and Aiko were both next to the desk.

" ** _So, this is Kai's folder?_** " King Danny asks. His voice was so wonderful to hear. The All-Speak was so majestic and wonderful.

" ** _Yes_** ," Hope replies.

He opens the folder and looks over the files. " ** _So this began when Kai was attacked a few months ago?_** "

Hope's side glance tells me to reply.

"Yes... er... Sir. He told me about it but that was it. He didn't want to Coulson or anything because the Science Fair was coming up and he was helping me and he wanted to help me and..." I trailed off.

King Danny looked at me, he seems to be confused and putting the pieces together. " ** _When was he taken in respect to these events?_** "

"The day of the Science Fair. That night." My voice is weak.

Ryu looks at the floor. I can tell she is thinking. Queen Aiko also looks upset.

This is my fault. Kai's whole situation is my fault.

King Danny looks back at the files. " ** _He spent two months as a hostage? And then there was the attack on K'un-Lun. A second kidnapping..._** " He abruptly stopped.

" ** _His death._** " Queen Aiko filled in quietly. " ** _He was murdered_**."

Ryu bolts up from where she was leaning on the wall. " ** _WHAT?"_** She screams. " ** _I SAW HIM MYSELF! I SMELT HIM! Just so you know. That is Kai, who is laying upstairs in a horrible state of pain and suffering!_** "

I look away. I look over to Nanda. Her hands covered her mouth and her eyes were soaked.

"败犬女王？" Nanda spoke, she bowed deeply. " **請原諒我的冒昧。但是，這是你的兒子，誰昨天晚上看到的，正確的？** "

" ** _Yes, Nanda. He is ok, now._** " Aiko spoke up.

Nanda looked up at the ceiling. " **धन्यवाद। तिमीलाई धेरै धन्यवाद।** "

It was a long silence. King Danny was looking over the papers. He seemed really grim. He flipped another page.

" ** _His injuries are extremely extensive._** " He notes after some time. " ** _Numerous broken bones, extreme weight loss, loss of blood, exhaustion, poisoning, the list seems too long._** "

Hope takes an uneasy breath. " ** _Those are simply his physical scars."_**

This implies more injuries.

King Danny flips another page. His lips move slightly as he looks over the pages.

He looks up and puts the papers down. " ** _Nanda, Sabrina, Anna. Could you all leave us please?_** "

Nanda bowed deeply. She turned and walked away.

" ** _Same motions and just wait outside,_** " Hope told us quietly.

We were deer in the headlights for a moment. We both scramble to bow and then walk out.

* * *

It was after lunch before we got to do anything else.

And that basically meant getting a tour and then going to see Kai.

The castle was huge and beautiful. There were many people walking around and doing things here. There's a library, kitchen, ballroom, banquet hall, we got a peak at the throne room, there were many sitting areas and other rooms I don't remember.

Then it was all the way up the stairs to Kai's room. I kind of have to wonder how he got up here. It's a huge walk from the main entrance to his room.

Hope knocked twice and then let herself in. She looked inside before motioning us to come in as well.

Kai was laying on his side in the bed. Ryu was in here, and so were two other women.

One was Nanda. She was rubbing Kai's arm and muttering softly. Kai was shaking and he was mumbling unintelligent phrases. It was impossible for me to know what he was talking about.

As we got closer I noticed that Nanda was singing, it did not sound like Chinese.

It clicked in my head. They were trying to calm him down. He was worked up over something.

" ** _Mistress Kasumi, how is he?_** " Hope asked as she approached.

The women didn't seem to notice us come in. She looked up startled but smiled at us. " ** _I'm doing all I can. His body is rejecting the medicine I am giving him. I'm trying to get him to sleep, he just does not want to."_** She was Japanese. I could tell by her appearance.

She wore Japanese robes too. The priestess robes from anime.

She tucked a long strand of hair out of her face. " ** _I'm going to stop now, ok Kai? Calm down please._** " She told him. She pulled back her arm, she was holding a rag in her hand. " ** _Your friends are here._** "

Kai tried to move. But he wasn't really strong enough. Nanda looks over at Hope and smiles. She gets off the ledge bed and walked over to a chair on the other side of the room and takes a seat. she picks up some fabric and begins to work.

I look over to Ryu, she was wearing an unreadable expression. She was on the balcony. She was leaning on the railing and watching the activities of the room. She looked down behind her. Then she did the strangest thing. She easily leaped up on the railing without turning around and then fell over backward.

I rushed to the balcony but before I walked outside a figure flew upwards past.

"She has wings?" I exclaim.

" ** _Yes,_** " Hope replies. " ** _All Dragon Lords have wings._** "

I sigh and walk over to where she is and watching Kai.

The woman was cleaning up her supplies.

" ** _This is Mistress Kasumi_**." Hope introduces. " ** _This is Kai's friend, Anna; and my friend, Sabrina._** "

" ** _A pleasure to meet you both,_** " She smiled. " ** _It's nice to know Kai has a friend in the outside._** "

I smile, how many people speak English?

"Um, thank?" I reply. I easily sit on Kai's bed near where his legs were. You couldn't tell he was an amputee like this. He was one lump under the blanket.

He finally forced himself upright. His tired eyes were bloodshot. " ** _Hello_**." He smiled. He winced.

"Hey. I know you said only one day of rest but, are you going to be ok?" I ask him slowly.

" ** _I'll be up tomorrow._** " He gives a pained smile. " ** _We will do something then. You wanted to see the town right?"_**

" ** _You won't be going anywhere unless Mistress Kasumi says you are healthy enough,_** " Hope says strictly.

Kai looked over at the woman. He seemed upset with that.

Mistress Kasumi looked down at Kai. " ** _It will depend on how much you sleep tonight._** "

" ** _Right_**." Kai mutters. " ** _I understand._** "

"I have a question... if that is ok." I speak up. "How many people speak All-Speak?"

Kasumi walks over to me and smiles. " ** _All healers must learn All-Speak in order to become a Mistress, the highest rank. I also speak enough English to understand you, I learned from Danny when we were young. It was like our secret language._** "

I look at her and give a kind nod. "Ok."

Kai looks down at his bed. Then he looks up at me and tries to smile. " ** _So what have you guys been up to today?_** " He asks.

"We met your parents and got a tour," Sabrina replied. "Your dad is so handsome. Blond hair and green eyes, moonlighting superhero. King!"

Kai looks at her alarmed, but he also looks like he has heard it before.

"Don't worry. You got some of his looks... his eyes. You mostly look like your mom." I joke.

"Thanks." Kai coughs switching to English.

Is All-Speak hard to speak? It makes sense that it helps everyone understand, but does it put a strain on the speaker in any way?

"This place is amazing. It's beautiful." I say happily. "Honestly. I love it."

"I'm glad." Kai eases himself onto the bed. He was shirtless and I could see a long scar running down him. As well as the thousand other scars.

Kai had been wearing a shirt every time I have seen him recently. He must be trying to cover up his scars.

"Anna, I'm fine," Kai says softly. "They are just physical scars. I'm ok."

I can't help but think back to those pictures online that say "I'm fine" and then are followed by the truth. That they are hurting and in need of help.

"Right," I smile at him. He needs a smile. And I need to not worry about him.

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and ideas.**

 **A/N: I call it magic. So I was working on this on my desktop computer with Word 2003. Which is really old. And it doesn't just automatically give you a word count. You have to go in and click a bunch of buttons. I wasn't even done and I was at 3000 words. Magic.**  
 **Anyway, check out my profile for upcoming updates. Now that school is starting I will update my profile with when things will update about monthly. And at the least each story that I have (with exception to Moments) will update about once a month at the least. I don't know what this school year holds yet.**  
 **Anyway, there is come more explanations to my characters. And Moments will update soon and the chapter in that will be Kai and take place during about this time, if anyone is interested in that it will update soon.**  
 **Read! Review! Enjoy!**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218- Powers are always a factor when you are a superhero. Always, you are right. That situation could either go very well or very bad. Sabrina is great. I mean let's face it; court life is so cool.**  
 **It is fun to see adult Danny. I have played with him when he is a grandfather and older, but this was also different because he is younger then other shorts I wrote of him and also he is under more pressure with everything happening with Kai. He is a very laid back an calm person over all but still he has a flip side.**  
 **Ryu! Ryu! Ryu! I don't really know. Maybe it would more like an aura with the amulet energy traces? I loved writing Aiko into this and the description was a lot of fun. Nanda will be featured in the next Moments chapter, it's not really her story but it is a chance for me to work on the character and practice her. Alright! Read, Review, and really enjoy this chapter!**

 **Nobel Six- Glad it was well worth the wait, please enjoy this extra long chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 14**

* * *

This morning Kai was giving a clear to get out of bed but was ordered to not leave the castle grounds. Which he agreed to.

He had decided to take me to the gardens. It is interesting to see Kai in his normal clothes. Being somewhere he could relax. Being the real Kai.

"Anna, I need to talk to you about something." Kai mumbles...

"Yes?" I ask him slowly... It feels strange talking to him here and now, he's not my Kai, is he?

I have to stop questioning myself...

"For starters, you look very beautiful in the dress." He smiles at me! An honest smile! My heart starts to beat faster... I smile back but when I do I notice his face fall and he seems to be thinking. He's not smiling anymore...

"Thank you, your highness." I laugh. Come on Kai... smile for me, please! One more!

He doesn't cheer up... He doesn't even look. "Kai, what's wrong?"

Kai's face flashes with pain and he flinches just a little. He takes in a deep breath and then he lets it out. He looks around and I watch him... Is he looking for something or avoiding looking at me?

"Let's sit down; I'm starting to be in some pain." He mutters softly. He easily points at a bench under a beautiful tree.

I'm surprised. This is a shock... just a little. "Of course! You need to rest!

He slowly makes his way over to the bench and I follow him.

Once we get there I help him sit down and I take his crutches and place them next to him on the bench. I finally sit down next to him and just watch the pond in front of us. It was beautiful and had some koi fish.

I look over and watch Kai pull up his robes and then start to roll up his pant leg. When he stops I can see his bandaged leg.

"What are you doing?" I ask him slowly.

"My leg is hurting." Kai complains, he rubs his leg. "I am supposed to be wearing my prosthetic for a few hours a day, but I'm in too much pain right now to put it on."

"Oh," I mutter. "Physical therapy?"

"Yes," Kai replies. "And before you ask it is going well."

"Cool. What kind of things are you doing?" I ask.

"Just wearing the prosthetic and practicing walking with it, hand-eye coordination, basic muscle control exercises, working on building but strength, and so other things like that." Kai lists. "I've been doing occupational therapy too, and lately, since I got my stitches taken out I have been doing hydrotherapy. And about twice a week I get massage therapy. Which does feel really good."

"I would like massage therapy," I smile at him. "Sounds relaxing."

"It is really good when your muscles are all tensed up and it gets painful but I have had some trouble with the therapist touching me."

"How?" I ask confused.

"I got spooked," Kai replies.

"Oh," I mutter. "Sounds like you are very busy."

"Yes, I am," Kai replies. "That's kind of something I wanted to talk to you about."

"What, you are busy? I know. We all are with this and you healing." I smile at him.

"You are not a mind reader." Kai laughs. He smiles, but it's gone in an instant. "Right now I wish you were so I wouldn't have to do this."

I look at him surprised. "Are you ok...?" I ask quickly.

Here it comes. The "it's not you, it's me talk." I think...?

"No. And before you start jumping to conclusions. It's nothing about you... Ok?" Kai speaks quickly. He moves and rests his elbows on his legs. He leans forward and watches the pond.

Great... I was right. Do I say something or not?

"Um... Go on," I reply.

Kai runs his hands through his hair. He grabs it and holds it all out of his face. "Ugh!"

He just watches the water. His breathing speeds up and I quickly get concerned. Is he ok...? Please don't freak out.

Kai's hands don't move from the sides of his head and he bends down.

The wind has picked up really suddenly. And it feels like a storm is coming, it was warm just a second ago, but now it is cold. The water starts to randomly ripple and move. Mini waves go from side to side of the pond. The rocks all around the pond begin to shake and the tree even seems to move on its own.

The bench starts to melt and I jump up and stand in front of Kai, he is levitating now. I've never seen him using this much of his power before.

Kai curls up as he floats and the bench has turned to a liquid stone substance. It spins around Kai and I have a feeling if it were to shoot out and struck something it would end badly.

"Kai!" I shout. "Kai, snap out of it!"

He doesn't seem to hear me. It all just keeps happening.

"Kai!" I yell again.

An arrow hits the ground right next to my foot. I look around and there was a person in a tree with another arrow pointed in my direction.

Great... I'm going to get arrested, aren't I?

"回去！" The man commands. "如今!"

I don't understand him. I really don't.

I take a step back. And slowly I walk back five full steps from Kai.

Great... He's in pain and I can't help him because this guy must think I am hurting him.

Not to mention what on Earth he was trying to tell me!

I watch Kai and I get a glimpse of his eyes. Pure white. No pupil. And no iris. And no bloodshot veins.

"Kai!" I yell at him. "Calm down."

He's looking at me now. I don't know what's going on in his mind. But he is looking at me.

Another arrow flies past Kai and hit the tree behind him. The guy with the arrows leaps down from the tree and stand a few feet away. He has another arrow in the string and was holding it but not drawing it.

"Kai! Please, calm down!" I shout again. This isn't working.

"Kiato Natsu Rand-K'ai!" I yell. "It's me. Anna! Please, can you hear me?"

Kai doesn't respond. He screams and the liquefied stone shoots out everywhere.

I dodge out of the way and look back to see Kai falling limply.

Without thinking I push off the ground and I manage to catch him.

That sounds more graceful than it actually was. I lunged forward to catch him and it ended up more with him landing on my back.

When I checked he had at least not hit his head.

The archer had approached. He gave Kai a small judge in the side and Kai reacted quickly curling once more into a ball. " ** _Please just leave me alone._** "

I look at him for a second before I can think of something to do. I reach over to the pond and cup my hands and get down water and let it drizzle onto his forehead.

His eyes snapped open the water droplets hovered above his head.

His breathing is quick.

" ** _Is it over?_** " Kai asked.

I nod quickly. My eyes swell up with tears. "It's been over for a long time now."

Kai looked over at the man. " ** _It is ok. She has done nothing to me._** "

The man nods. He bows and retreats into the tree. And when I look up he is gone.

When I look back down, Kai was about to cry.

He looks me in the eye for a split second. He jumps up and wraps his arms around my neck and he begins to cry.

For a while minute, I sat there before I hug him back.

"Kai, what's wrong?" I ask.

"Nothing." He mutters.

"I know that is not true," I whisper in his ear.

"I'm pathetic," Kai says between broken breaths. "I'm so pathetic and weak! I'm pathetic! I couldn't free myself. I was there two months apparently. Didn't life go on? Didn't people at one point assume I was dead, even before I was? Anna, please be honest with me, no one noticed I was gone."

"We all noticed," I assure him rubbing his back.

"I'm not a part of the team. I'm not your teammate. I'm just the extra. And that's it." Kai rambles on.

I hope this is normal. I really do... I mean this whole thought process and everything coming out of his mouth right about now.

"You know I love you right?" I ask softly.

He doesn't respond.

"And I get it, you are hurting inside. Just calm down and talk to me, ok?" I ask him softly, I have to stay calm if Kai isn't going to.

"You don't get it!" Kai says stubbornly. His voice is a weak and angry yell.

"Then explain it to me!" I snap right back at him. I jerk away and hold his shoulders at an arms distance.

He refuses to look at me. "It's nothing about you... it's me... my problem!"

Here it goes again. It's not you, it's me. Code for it really is you...

"Is this about the weird half-relationship we have?" I question him. This is going to kill me I just have to know.

"No... Why do you think that?" Kai sniffs and wipes his eyes with his hands. He still won't look at me.

"No reason..." I mumble. "I'll explain it when you're older."

"Sure, Anna." Kai nods.

I take a deep breath. "Then why can't you tell me?" I ask.

"If you knew... You would understand why..." Kai mumbled. He childishly wipes his face on his shirt. He is a kid; he lives in an immortal world. He's always been so mature.

My stomach feels sick.

"Please just tell me." I pull him into a hug again. "I want to help you."

"I already told you about my physical recovery... But um... do you remember Isabella?" He asks.

"Of course." I coax him along. I do remember her.

Kai takes in a deep breath and lets it out. "She is a psychologist who has been working with me. And um... it's been really hard. And that's what I wanted to talk to you about... Ok? Do you get it? Why I just feel like I can't talk about it?"

"I guess. This is your head. And you don't want someone poking around." I mumble the incredibly ironic sentence.

Kai pulls back and looks me in the eyes. His beautiful green eyes are soaked. "Three days before my birthday, Hope arranged for me to have some more tests run just to be sure I am ok."

"And-?" I ask softly. I'm scared where this is going.

"Turns out I'm not ok." Kai sighs looking up. "I wanted so much to be normal. Go back to normal! And then... I was diagnosed..."

I take his hands. I feel my own eyes getting wet. I rub them and give Kai a nod. I squeeze his hands. I can't interrupt.

"I don't know if you've ever heard of it... but I have something called CPTSD." Kai sighs and looks me in the eyes.

"CPTSD," I repeat. Um...

"You've never heard of it." Kai sighs. "You can't Google it, there is no technology here. And don't lie; you don't know what it is."

I smile. "Ok, you've got me. Can you tell me about it?"

Kai pulls up his long shirt to show me his stomach. He was warring pants under the long robes. But his chest was covered in scars that looked like they would never fade. "Imagine this is my mind. All these scars are on my mind."

My hand has a mind of it's on as I gently trace a scar with two fingers. "Like nightmares?"

"No." Kai sighs, he looks down. "That's on the list of things not to say, actually."

"There's a list?" I ask. I don't understand.

"Yes." Kai looks at our hands. "I printed some things out for you if you want to read them. It's just so you can know what to expect."

"I want you to tell me. I'll read what you have but I want to hear it from you... I can tell you are worried about what I am going to think. I want to know what you have to say about it." I have to be careful to watch what I say.

Kai takes a hand back to wipe his eyes. "Where do you want me to start?" He places his wet hand back in mine.

I think for a second. "What is CPTSD?"

"Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder." Kai spells it out.

"And it's a mental injury?" I ask him.

"Yes." Kai takes a deep breath. "I'm really ashamed of it."

"What? Why?" I ask.

"Isabella told me that it's associated with war veterans. It's not impossible for other types of people to have it." Kai sighed. "I'm worried about going to school and people finding out. I can't hide it, it is really bad. It's just... I know I can't hide it very well... I'm scared about being picked on and bullied. What if I panic in class?"

"Hey, look me in the eye," I say softly. He doesn't at first. But then he does. "You're ok."

"It doesn't feel that way." Kai mumbled. "I don't feel ok."

"I'm sorry." What do you say to that? What do you really honestly say to all that?

Kai looks around. "Um... What you just saw... It was a panic attack. I've had many different types. But that was the first time I used my powers during one. If I can't get this under control I can't go to school."

I look down at our hands. "Do you want to go inside?" I ask. "I think you need to lay down and calm down some. You're overreacting."

"I'm not overreacting." Kai shot at me quickly.

"I don't mean about the condition. I meant about school." I explain. "You aren't going to be picked on or even treated differently. You just have to have a thick skin."

"I don't have a thick skin anymore. When I was first handicapped I had a thick skin. After a few months, comments didn't bother me. But now... I don't have it anymore, Anna." Kai mutters. "I've lost it."

"Come on, let's go inside," I repeat myself.

Kai looks around. "Sure."

"Can you stand?" I ask him.

"I think so," Kai replies. He levitates to his feet and I hand him his crutches.

He looks at the damage. "I'm in trouble. I can guarantee it."

"Over what?" I ask. "How on earth are you going to get in trouble?"

"I promised that I had my powers under control. That was the only way I was getting out of my room. When Mistress Kasumi hears about this, she'll get mad at me because I'm just making myself worse." Kai sighed as he started to lead the way.

I followed him. "Which one if Mistress Kasumi?"

"She was in my room when you stopped by. The one wearing the traditional miko robe; the red hakama with white haori." Kai explained.

I blink once. "Um... The Japanese priestess lady?"

"She isn't a priestess." Kai corrects me. "That's just what Healers wear. It's a long history lesson but yes it's the same clothing, just different meanings."

"Oh." I'm not confused at all... But this is distracting Kai from other things. "So Nanda? She was the other woman I met yesterday. When we went to see your dad... er father... which is correct?"

"Either. I call him both. It depends on the setting." Kai fills in the blank.

"Well, anyway, she was there." I finish. "So if she was there to hear about everything that happened to you, she must have a story behind her."

"She is Nepalis. She is going to be 26 years old in a few moon cycles, and I've known her all my life. She isn't married either." Kai lists off the facts. "She has four brothers, two older and two younger. The older two are both very smart and the younger two are more reckless but decent fighters."

"That wasn't what I was looking for," I comment. "I meant like how you know her. Stuff like that."

"I told you already she's been around since before I was born." Kai looked around the pathway. "She works as a servant for my mom. Her main job was caring for me when my mom couldn't. To me, she is my nursemaid. Kind of like a second mom."

"What do you mean when your mom couldn't care for you?" I ask.

"I was premature. My mom got sick and wasn't always able to care for me every second." Kai looks at his foot. "And then when I got older, she would babysit me."

My mind is thinking too fast... Nanda is a servant? She must have some really special something to her if she is this close to Kai. I guess it makes since. She is his caregiver. So she would get to hear about what he went through so she would have some background.

I wonder what she knows about me. I wonder what she and Kai do together...

I look over at Kai. He was watching me.

"You know," he begins. "It's nice of you to come and see my world."

I smile at him. "Well I'm still confused about everything. I remember Ryu. She is an easy one."

"Dragon Lords hold their own since of beauty. Ryu is the only one who is currently alive. But she believes she can feel that there will be another Dragon Lord soon." Kai adds to that.

"Hiroshi was our escort. And there was another guy there, Hope's age." I comment.

"Oh, that must have been Jun. He is Hiroshi and Kasumi's son." Kai looks up. "I must have passed out before we got there."

"So that is everyone I met so far. I met your parents too but I know about them already. You mom looks really young." I smile.

"She is a full-blooded Immortal," Kai smiles. "You think she looks young? You should meet my Grandmother."

"So you're a half-immortal?" I ask.

"Yes." Kai nods. "The majority of the population has mixed blood."

"Cool." I nod.

We walk into the palace and I notice that there are people running around everywhere. It did feel like lunch time.

"王子？午餐會在很短時間內送達。你母親讓我做你的餃子。你想他們你的房間？" A servant walked up to us.

" ** _No, I'll eat with my family. Thank you_**. " Kai smiled at the woman.

He turned to me. "We're going to eat lunch with my family."

I place my hands on my hips. "You said that you would go lay down." I correct him.

"Don't worry about me Anna, really. I don't want you to treat me any differently than anyone else. Got it?" Kai's eyes narrow.

His 'got it' seemed almost aggressive.

"Yes, Your Highness!" I reply.

Kai frowned a little at this but after a second he smiled. "Thanks Anna."

* * *

PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and ideas.**

 **A/N: So… this was a fun one to write, over 3000 words… I think again… anyway… loads happening. Anyway… I'll post soon on my profile when my next updates will be. I liked having two weeks of no rush to write because I didn't write much over the week. I only seem to get chances to write on my phone for like five minutes at a time and I would much rather use my computer. Anyway! Enjoy! And! Review!**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218- You got an account! Yay! This chapter isn't so rocky, this is a little better as far as they are both calm and Kai is doing better. Not much trauma in this chapter, just some lightheartedness. Kai's 'dazed attack' was more like a panic attack and his power just started to do things. I add in the fact that Anna doesn't understand anyone in this chapter once more. Nanda does a lot of speaking, but Kai translates.**  
 **As far as Kai and Danny, like father like son. Anna does have it rough in the last chapter. Her world is really different than this and it's confusing. And the romantics… yup… at least this chapter should cheer you up.**  
 **I wouldn't say her feelings are unrequited, Kai does feel things toward her, but he's an emotional and physical mess. But he does care about her. He is a cute little Prince Charming, I don't think Aiko and Danny would have their kid be any kind of mess. They raised him right.**  
 **Enjoy the next chapter!**

 **Black Web- Thanks for reading and reviewing. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!**

 **Nobel Six- This is also a long one, so get ready and please enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 15**

* * *

Kai told me about his condition two days ago. When we finally made it up to his room Kasumi had heard about the panic attack and had chastised Kai by lecturing him in Chinese. I was in there to hear all of it. Not that I understood. Afterward, Kai had changed into some long pants, no shirt, and sat down on the bed as Kasumi changed his bandages. After that, he gave me the printed articles he had mentioned and then went to sleep.

Not that is was a good sleep. He woke back up every thirty minutes it felt like. He finally agreed to take some medicine to help him sleep and once he did, he was out for the rest of the day.

The day after he ran a fever. A bad one. So I hung out with him. When the third bell if the day rang, Hope explained it as nine o'clock, it started to downpour. It rained almost all day. I had a feeling that Kai was doing it, he could do it. I know he could cause this rain to come.

Queen Aiko stopped by to check on Kai, while I was there. She did mention that there were complaints of a dry spell. She sat on his bed and ran a hand through his hair and smiled at him. Talking quietly in Chinese to him. She also spoke to me some. She mentioned a few times how much like my parents' I am. I guess she and mom were good friends.

Today has been going just like yesterday. Kai is sleeping and he is doing better. His fever is down, by a lot. So he is doing better, but he is still asleep.

I had breakfast with his parents and Hope and Sabrina. It was quiet. And almost a little scary. I mean King Danny is the king over this dimension and everything. Like all powerful, his word goes. And when I met him the other day he was in that position, when he was in his office, he's in work mode.

But at breakfast and every other meal I have seen him at, he is a normal parent. He's interested in the outside world and what had happened there, everything that had happened there. And Queen Aiko is the same way. It's strange because I guessed they were like the royals in books and stuff, but they aren't. It's strange.

I sigh and watch Kai sleep. The medications he was on yesterday are wearing off, or a second dosage of it was wearing off. I doubt that the small amount yesterday was strong enough to keep him out this long. He is moving around and stirring.

Nanda doesn't seem to take notice. She's in here keeping an eye on him. She doesn't seem to be watching him closely but I guess she knows what she is doing. Kai said she had been working here since before he was before he was born. So I guess she knows what she is doing.

I still don't know much about her. I kind of want to know how much she knows about me. I like her and all, our make-shift communication has been kind of fun. She would give me a drink and when I went to get more myself she rushed to do it for me. The cultural barrier is difficult, though. Because I mean, I'm a New York girl, I have a bike and kick villain behind in my free time and she's a servant who likely doesn't know how to use a light switch.

Kai moves and starts to stretch out his back. He opens his eyes and looks up at me.

" ** _Good morning, Anna_**." Kai mumbles. " ** _Have you been sitting there long?_** "

"No." I lie. "I haven't been here long."

Kai pushes himself to sit up, the blanket that had been pulled over his chest had fallen to his lap and his bandaged chest was once more exposed. I'd been seeing it a lot recently, he's still underweight. I think I heard that he might not gain enough weight back.

But, I also noticed something else. In New York, Kai took extra care to keep himself covered up. I never saw any of his scars. Or most of his arms. And he wore large clothing to prevent people from seeing how thin he is. But here I had seen them many times, and his body is covered in scars I don't think he even remembers how they got there. It's really sad actually.

Some long scars cross over him randomly and other I can tell are from surgery. Some are shorter and clearly deeper than a skin wound. And he is still really bruised.

Kai throws off the blanket and swings his legs over the bed, his long pants were normal old pants. His left pant left hung limply. I have a feeling this is normal.

I reach to grab his crunches which are lying next to his prosthetic leg. I don't think he needs to be wearing it. But… it was brought anyway.

Kai holds out his hand and closes his eyes and I watch the prosthetic move slowly into his hand. It was clumsy, it would get higher and then drop down to his lap and do all sorts of other things.

"Kai?" I ask slowly. "Is that the best idea?"

" ** _It's fine,_** " Kai replied. He pulled up his pant leg. He holds out his hand towards his desk and some bandages float over. He started to wrap his leg.

"No! It's not!" I shout at him. "You are going to hurt yourself!"

"凱。這是一個壞主意。" Nanda says quickly walking over.

" ** _Nanda, it's fine. I'm feeling better and I need to get up. I'm sore._** " Kai explains as he goes about putting on the prosthetic leg. " ** _See? It doesn't hurt._** "

"你是不是強大到可以走路。" Nanda protests instantly. "如果你在痛苦與否我不在乎。"

" ** _I'm fine,_** " Kai says once more. This time, he makes it to his feet and stands up easily. Then he starts to sway and I grab his arm.

"Idiot," I mumble under my breath.

"兒童。" Nanda mutters. "怪盜，你是不是足夠強大待漲。你是不是讓自己受到傷害。你在這裡休息和治療收到。"

" ** _And I have healed, Nanda. I'm fine._** " Kai replies. He looks at me. " ** _Can I have my crutches? I still need them._** "

"You seem a lot better than yesterday," I comment. I pass him the crutches and his positions one under his left arm and gives me the other back.

" ** _I know. I am feeling better too._** " Kai replies.

He's better. That's good. He isn't freaking out or something. And he's distracted… I think… I don't know but he's ok right now.

I watch Kai move to the dressed and pull some things out and then move slowly behind a room divider.

"你在做什麼？" Nanda asks him following.

"改變我的衣服" Kai's voice replies in Chinese.

"你不會離開。如果非要我會得到你的父母。" Nanda responds back. She is standing outside the room divider. She has her arms crossed.

There is no response. That is until Kai walks out and looks up at Nanda. He was sort of dressed but he was not completely dressed so to speak. I could kind of tell. They stare at each other for a while.

"但是你說會帶我出去吃。你想讓我長胖。" Kai says after the pause.

Nanda bends down and starts to fix his clothes. Again, another strange thing that I am not used to. Throw on a shirt some jeans, and I am out the door.

"沒有。" Nanda says back.

"請？" Kai asks.

"沒有。" Nanda replies.

"請？" Kai says the same thing again.

"沒有。" And Nanda has now replied three times now, the same thing.

"南達? 請？"

I'm confused.

"精細。不要讓我後悔的。" Nanda sighs she stands up and looks Kai over. She straightens out his shirt.

"謝謝！" Kai exclaims.

Nanda nods. "你是太麻煩了。"

"我會付不用擔心。"

"麻煩。" Nanda says.

Kai walks over to his desk and messed with some stuff as Nanda gets her shoes.

"Is she coming with us?" I ask.

"Yes," Kai replies to me in English.

"And where are we going?" I ask.

"Out," Kai replies. "Nanda will likely have some chores to do so we can go with her."

"When you say chores…?" I ask.

"Nothing major." Kai shrugs. "I want to get out of the palace and Nanda offered earlier to take me out to eat. Although she still thinks I am not strong enough to be walking."

"Well tell her I agree," I say crossing my arms.

" ** _Nanda,_** " Kai says in All-Speak. " ** _Anna agrees with you that I am not strong enough to be getting up. She wanted me to tell you._** "

"告訴她你即將固執如龍。而你從父母得到它！" Nanda replied.

Kai sighs. " ** _She said I'm as stubborn as a dragon and I have my parents to thank for that._** "

I have to laugh. "She said that? Shouldn't she, oh you know, not be speaking bad of the King?"

" ** _Like either of them would deny it,_** " Kai replied. " ** _I mean they won't deny being stubborn._** "

"啟，我會滿足你和你的朋友在大廳了，你為什麼不啟動標題下樓梯？" Nanda said as she walked out the door.

" ** _Yes, Nanda,_** " Kai replied. We waited a few moments before Kai started to walk a painful stumble towards the door. The stairs were even slower, I held onto Kai's free arm to balance him.

* * *

I messed with the scarf tied around my head some more as we walked around the street. Nanda had done it before we left. Kai had to explain it to me, and I still didn't get it. He settled with saying it was to blend in with. It was I think Indian culture to cover the head when out in public and it was adopted for all unmarried women or something like that. It may have just been young women. It was confusing.

We walked around for a while and I watched as Nanda spoke to people and other things. In a few shops, Kai and I looked around while Nanda took care of what she needed to.

It was amazing. The shops all had a small and cozy feeling. And it was so cool. One shop had bottles of liquids behind the counter all a different color, and other had charms that were out on shelves among other objects.

One place Nanda sent Kai into had quills and ink and other such items. I went in with him and it was amazing. I had picked up a book and opened it to see the slightly uneven blank pages. And there were scrolls on shelves all over the place. Kai mentioned they had a printing press in the back that he had gotten a chance to see once. When the back door opened I got to look in and spot it. Cool.

I also noticed that shops were actually businesses and things. Street vendors were just normal people selling things like crops and spices to make some extra money.

We had stopped for a break after a while and Kai sat down on the edge of a fountain. He massaged her leg almost aggressively. His face showed me exactly how bad his pain was.

Nanda stood next to him digging through her bag looking for something.

"我沒有任何藥物。" She spoke quickly digging through the bag.

"我知道，我忘記提醒你。" Kai replied.

"午休。它是什麼，安娜喜歡吃？" Nanda asked, she looked over to me.

Kai made another face while rubbing his leg before he looked over at me. " ** _She wants to know what you would like to eat for lunch._** "

"Um… I don't know…" I stutter.

" ** _She doesn't know._** " Kai turned to Nanda.

Nanda's head turned to the side. "那麼我們應該吃什麼？"

" ** _I don't know. Anna what do you like, honestly._** " Kai asks.

"How about you guys take me to some place of your choice. Because I think you would know better than me what is here." I suggest.

" ** _She says that we should choose because we know the lay of the land and what is here, much better than she does,_** " Kai says looking at Nanda.

I thought All-Speak was hard and translating was hard but Kai was doing great. It didn't appear to be a strain on him at all.

"那我想你想的尼泊爾 - 西藏的食物。"

" ** _You know me well, Nanda._** " Kai smiles at her. It's a goofy fake smile.

Nanda sighed. "當你準備好了，年輕的之一。"

Kai takes his time and I help him to his feet and he leans on me for a while to support his weight.

But once we start going he seems to be doing better, he was able to use his new prosthetic without much help, but he still is in pain. I can tell by his walk.

Nanda leads the way and Kai holds up the read so I don't get lost.

When we stop we go into a restaurant.

"Anna, you can take the scarf off now," Kai says quietly into my ear.

I pull the scarf off and look at Kai.

"Around your neck," Kai adds.

I obey and Nanda motions us to follow her.

We all walk over to a table and sit down. Kai needed much help sitting due to the pain in his leg.

The table was very low to the ground. I took a seat after helping Kai sit down. Nanda took a seat too.

"你認為安娜想喝茶嗎？" Nanda asked softly.

Kai looked at me, " ** _um, maybe. Anna, do you want some traditional drink or water?_** "

"Uh… water." I reply.

" ** _Water._** " Kai repeats.

"Are you doing ok with all the translating? Doesn't it put a strain on you?" I ask.

"No," Kai replies. "I'm ok."

A girl walks up to the table and bows. She speaks quickly in Chinese.

She and Nanda talk back and forth for a while. Nanda seems comfortable here. I have to wonder what kind of food this place will have.

"Anna when you are asked what you want; answer with 'Dá'ěr zhū,' alright?" Kai asks me.

"Um, sure?" I reply.

Nanda and the girl stop talking and she looks at Kai. He speaks softly.

" ** _Momo Dumplings and Nepalese Thukpa._** " Kai actually almost stumbled over the All-Speak words.

The girl looks to me. "Dá'ěr zhū." I stumble over the words.

She smiles and nods. And with that, she walks ways.

It was a while before we got any food. I got to talk to Nanda. Kai acting as translator. He explained that he was using All-Speak so we could make sure he was not messing up what we wanted him to say. He would also on occasion cut in with his own opinion.

It was fun. Nanda is really sweet. I like her. I asked about what it was like working with Kai's parents and stuff and her answer surprised me. I kind of figured she would know a lot about what was happening all the time. I figured she would just hear about it.

Turns out she doesn't hear much. It took her three weeks to put together the small pieces she would hear to figure out the story about how Kai's leg was amputated. And then another few weeks before Kai told her what had happened.

But apparently this time around, she was told directly what was going on with Kai. She was told by King Danny and Queen Aiko. She called it a first.

After that, our food had arrived. Nanda ate quietly as Kai and I kept on talking.

"What am I looking at?" I asked looking down at the food.

"The dish you ordered is called Dal Bhat," Kai said as he picked up a spoon.

" ** _The bowl in front of me is a soup called Thukpa. Try it._** " Kai offers me a spoon, I noticed there were two.

"Tell me what it is…" I say slowly taking the spoon from him

" ** _Noodles in a really hot soup, it's a winter dish, but with K'un-Lun weather being like it is, it's eaten all year… I don't know what to tell you besides it's spicy._** " Kai shrugged.

"怪盜。" Nanda said calmly.

I slowly pick up the spoon and then take a sip. Kai wasn't kidding. I had to swallow it quickly. I quickly picked up my water and drank half of it trying to get my mouth to stop burning.

"What's in that?" I ask quickly.

" ** _Chili Powder,_** " Kai says casually. He smiles some and laughs just a little.

"不成熟。" Nanda says looking at Kai seriously.

"Sorry, Nanda," Kai says picking up his own spoon and taking a spoonful like it was nothing.

"You are horrible; you couldn't say that earlier?" I ask him. "What did Nanda say?"

"I like it." Kai shrugs. "And she called me immature."

"Tell her I agree." I cross my arms.

" ** _Nanda, Anna agrees with you that I am immature._** " Kai sighs.

Nanda just smiles and shakes her head knowingly.

I eat my own food for a while and Kai and Nanda talk some. I want to ask what about but I don't. Dal Bhat was ok. There was plain rice which I enjoyed. The soup wasn't as bad as what Kai had let me try. It was more like a vegetable soup with a small kick.

"Hey, can I ask you something, Kai? And can you just talk in English for a second?" I ask. I want to know.

"Um… sure. What is it?" Kai asks lowering his chopsticks.

"You and Nanda seem really close," I comment. "Is there something to that?"

"Um, well…" Kai looks down at the table. "She's just been there forever. My mom and I are still close. But… there are somethings you just don't want to talk to your mom about, you know?" Kai looks up. "She's also kind of given up getting to have what a normal life is, she's not married. And she is older now so she won't ever get married. So she does treat me like her own kid. That's good because I don't get away with stuff, and Hope didn't get away with much when she was little either."

"So she means a lot to you?" I ask.

Kai gives a nod; he picks up another dumpling and puts it in his mouth. His quiet composure slowly starts to melt away once more.

"You know, it's good to see you like this." I smile at him.

"Thanks, Anna." Kai smiles back at me putting a dumpling on my plate. "I promise, there is not chili in that."

I pick it up and laugh. "I get to punch you if there is, ok?"

"Be my guest." Kai smiles back at me.

This is perfect. I really like this side of Kai right now. He's just being normal.

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and Ideas.**

 **A/N: Wow. So it's been a long week. It was a short week too… ugh… I want to sleep. But… Fall Break will be here soon enough. O plan to do some serious sleeping and writing… but with my life… I doubt my plans will hold. But… I make time when I can… been enjoying this story and plan to introduce the main problems in a few chapters… don't want to rush this, though. But this is chapter 16 already…. So anyway… going to wrap this up so I can also get Neon done. Enjoy and Review!**

 **Note: This is the song link if anyone is interested:** (www).(youtube) (watch?)(=ppzQby12c24) **Remove All Parentheses**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218- It ok, I get it. I have some stories I want to review also but I just haven't gotten a chance yet… school…. Also… lucky (referencing Coming Together review) I started school well over a month ago. I like that Anna and Peter have notable similarities. Ava is in there too. I love Nanda's character because she just has this rare insight on Kai's mind. She will be making an appearance later into Lights as her origin as to how she got to be so close to him. It's a sweet story, with heartache. More adorable Kai in this chapter. He is notably different in this chapter then in New York, where I plan to return soon. But it's like being in a safety net. Being home. For Kai at least.  
Anyway, I am looking forward to hearing more from you soon! Enjoy!**

 **Nobel Six: Glad it was worth the wait. Remember your submitted Oc? Coming up within a few chapters if all goes well. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 16**

* * *

Today is the last full day here in K'un-Lun. It's been amazing and all but Sabrina and I are flying back tomorrow, I don't know if Hope is coming back with us. Kai is staying in K'un-Lun for a few more weeks to relax and recover.

And honestly, he needs it.

He said the plan is that he will return to New York right before the beginning or the school year.

After we got back yesterday Kai immediately went to bed and even if it was like the equivalent of three o'clock. He was asleep the rest of the night.

Today's been just about as calming as the last week. I've spent the day in Kai's room with him and Nanda. Kai just stayed in his bed, sitting up and leaning on the headboard.

"Anna?" Kai asked quietly. "Are you ok? You are spacing out."

"Sorry, it's just so relaxing here," I mutter. I was laying in the bed next to Kai, even though he was sitting upright. I had taken a pillow to rest my head on and I was so comfortable. The sheets were silk and so soft.

"It really is." Kai agrees. "Anyway. I was supposed to tell you that there is a big party tonight I have to go to. And you can come if you want."

"Party?" I ask. It doesn't seem like the right word.

"Celebration." Kai corrects himself.

"What for?" I ask.

Kai leans back. " ** _How do I explain it?_** "

"解釋什麼？" Nanda asks as she looks up from a book she was reading.

"我妹妹的婚禮公告。求愛儀式是在外面有很大不同。" Kai explains.

Nanda shrugs and looks back at her book.

"So… What is going on?" I ask slowly.

"Hope is 17, so she is in the age range where people here get married." Kai starts. "Do you get where I am going with this?" The question is in a joking monotone.

"I think I do. Hope's getting married?" I ask.

"Well, engaged." Kai corrects me. "And since she is the King's daughter it's a really big deal."

"Do you know who it is?" I ask him slowly.

"Of course." Kai smiles. "I am not allowed to say, however, not even to you."

"Oh, so you have to go?" I ask. "Like no escape?"

"Correct. It's kind of always been an unspoken thing, I'm going to succeed my father as King. Hope knows it, and personally, I don't think she would want to be Queen. It's a lot of work. But anyway, that means I'll be the successor. And I am expected to be at these kinds of things."

"Who is the current heir?" I ask.

"Um… Ryu is the heir, I think. It might be Hope now because she old enough." Kai holds his head. "I cannot remember."

Kai looked up at Nanda. " ** _Who is the current crowned heir?_** "

"你姑姑。" Nanda replied.

" ** _Thank you._** " Kai gives her a nod. "It's Ryu."

"Why is that?" I ask.

"When my dad was crowned she was his only blood relative so she was the one that he chose to take his place if he were ever incapable. Well, if he and my mom were both incapable. Although there was a point once where Ryu had to step up because my dad was gone and my mom couldn't handle it." Kai explains.

"Wow." I don't really know what to say. "That's complicated."

"Point is," Kai takes a deep breath. "I get to go to a bunch of official meeting and things that I otherwise would be unable to go to. And tonight you are invited."

"I hope you happen to have something for me to wear." I sigh. I was wearing a rather plain dress. "Unless this will work?"

"No, I think Hope will have an old dress or something." Kai smiles at me.

"Hey, can we talk about you for a minute?" I ask softly.

Kai looks at his folded hands. "Um… I don't want to… but… if there is something you want to talk about… that's ok…"

"You seemed normal until I brought it up…" I sigh. I push myself to sit up. "What's up in here?" I ask I point to my head.

"Um… A lot. A small oncoming migraine." Kai sighs holding his forehead some. "I haven't felt very stressed lately. It's been peaceful. I think just being in K'un-Lun helps with that. But I was born here so I never really knew."

"It is really peaceful here. Like nothing can go wrong." I smile at him. "Unlike New York."

Kai doesn't response to my joke. He just leans back in the plush pillows. "I don't want to talk about New York right now. If you don't mind."

"Sure. Sorry." I sigh deeply. "It's just you seemed fine the other day when we went out and all, and now you're gloomy again."

"I know. ** _I'm just not feeling good again._** " Kai sighs.

Nanda looks up "你需要一些東西 ？"

"我不知道。" Kai sighs. "我頭疼 。"

Nanda gets up and places the book down and walks over to Kai's desk and starts to work on something.

"問問你的朋友，如果她想喝水。" Nanda spoke softly.

"Do you want a drink, Anna?" Kai asked.

"Sure." I shrug.

"是。" Kai speaks in Chinese.

"Why no All-Speak?" I ask him softly.

"A headache," Kai says holding his head. He closes his eyes and lets out a breath.

His muscles tense up. Nanda walks over with a tray in her hands. She places it down on the night table and places a hand on Kai's forehead. Her eyes show she is thinking.

Kai's reaction is outrageously fast. He slapped her hand away with more speed then I could imagine he had. He still is really weak.

Nanda looks worried but not phased.

"怪盜，" She whispered.

" ** _I'm ok,_** " Kai replied shakily. " ** _I'm ok._** "

"來吧，這是正常的，你是誠實的。" Nanda says softly. She reached out and touched his shoulder.

Kai didn't slap her away this time. His hands went to his hair I watched as he gripped it tightly.

"No," he mutters in English.

I feel my heart racing. This is starting again. I can't stop it, this feeling of panic sweeps over me.

" ** _Monster!_** " He shouts. " ** _You're a monster!_** "

He starts to jerk around like he can't control it.

Nanda doesn't seem as worried as I am. She seems calm. She looks at me and smiles softly. But, the smile is from her eyes. She's calm.

She looks over at Kai. "怪盜，你必須設法冷靜下來。沒有什麼是錯的。"

"但是有。" Kai mutters. He lets out a cry in pain and starts to curl up making his body smaller.

Nanda closes her eyes.

 _"Huā xièhuāfēi fēi mǎn tiān, hóng xiāo xiāng duàn yǒu shuí lián  
Chóuxù mǎnhuái wú gē chù; shǒu bà huā chú chū xiù lián  
Huā kāi yì jiàn luònàn xún; jiē qián chóu shā zàng huā rén  
Dú bǎ huā chú kōng sǎlèi; sǎ xiàng kōng zhī jiàn xiě hén  
Suí huā fēi dào tiān jìntóu, tiān jìntóu hé chù yǒu xiāng qiū  
Wèi ruò jǐn náng shōu yàn gǔ, yī duī jìngtǔ yǎn fēngliú  
Nóng jīn zàng huā rén xiào chī; tā nián zàng nóng zhī shì shuí  
Yī zhāo chūn jǐn hóngyán lǎo, huā luò rén wáng liǎng bùzhī"_

I had watched her sing softly. She was singing something in Chinese to calm Kai down. And it was actually working. It was working on my as well.

I felt my breathing slow down and my heart wasn't racing.

I swear I was hypnotized.

Kai was relaxed, all his muscles were. And his face was tear streaked. He had stopped fighting the monsters in his head. I was curious, did he win this round?

Nanda looks at Kai much like a mother would. She pulls him into a hug. "愛你。"

It's quite for a while "你也是。" Kai mutters. His arms wrap around Nanda's neck and he holds on to her.

My mind starts to race. I kind of wish he could reach out to me like that. There's always the school year. I'll be the only person he has to reach out to. Hope will be there but she has her own problems to deal with and all and Coulson was going to sort our schedules to where I was with him as much as possible. But I don't think we going to have that many classes together.

I don't know.

I watch Kai hold onto Nanda tightly. Clinging to her for his strength.

* * *

"So, explain to me where we are going again?" I ask as we walked down the street. It was all four of us. Hope and Sabrina were with us.

"I have preparations to do for tonight and Kai thought you two might enjoying coming along with me. That and he wanted an excuse to leave the palace." Hope explained to me. She looked back over at Kai with an expression that was almost accusing.

"Well, sorry." Kai sighed. He was still walking with one crutch. "I wanted out."

"It's cool. Nanda told me you went out with her the other day and you were being immature." Hope smiled. "She said it was good to see you like that."

"You are talking about the chili soup… aren't you?" Kai asked.

I have to laugh. "I think she is."

Sabrina pulled at her head dress. "Where are we going?"

"Well, kind of the Abbey," Kai explained.

"Abbey?" Sabrina asked.

"It is our version of a hospital. But there are other things there." Kai explained. "Like therapy stuff. Everything there is designed to be soothing and relaxing. So like a spa too. But the healers know exactly what they are doing."

"Wait so this is like a Spa day?" I ask.

"Yes." Kai agrees.

"And you wanted to come?" Sabrina asked. "Kai this is kind of a girly thing."

Kai smiles at her. "I mentioned the therapy part, right? I have different plans than what Hope is doing. I asked Mistress Kasumi about it and she said that is was for the best I started to do some therapy stuff here so I keep up my strength and healing."

"Oh." I sighed. "Fun. What are you planning on doing?"

"I don't know yet," Kai shrugs. He is so relaxed. It's amazing.

"The healers aren't going to let you do anything strenuous. The younger healers won't do anything because you're the prince. But any healer older than you give you a piece of their minds." Hope cuts in.

"What?" I ask. "Healers can boss Kai around?"

"When I'm on their terms… I guess you can say that… Mistress Kasumi has given dad numerous orders concerning his health. And he has to listen to them. When a Healer tells you to do something concerning your health. You really should listen to them." Kai explains. "Can a doctor tell the president what to do?"

"They can try." Sabrina comments.

"Exactly." Hope nods.

I look up at the beautiful building we were approaching. It was beautiful and had that signature Japanese red arch over the pathway that leads to the courtyard.

"Woah…" I breathe out.

"Anime…" Sabrina smiles.

"The Abbey sits on a few acres with about three main building structures. The main first one on the left is where Healers live, not all of them, and where long-term patients stay." Kai explains. "The one on the right is more of where most of the work is done, teaching students, preparing herbs, healing people."

He points the last building, straight across the large courtyard. "That is like a spa. Things like physical therapy and pampering happen there. Some people who work in that building aren't healers, unmarried women usually take up work there, mostly widows… but it is good work."

"That's where we are going," Hope explained.

"Cool. And you Kai?" I ask.

"I'll come with you for a while," Kai says with a brief nod.

I have to smile. As I follow him into the building.

* * *

Hope is really easy to pick out from a crowd. Red hair in an Asian dominated society. And the women who greeted her easily seemed to put together who Kai was.

They were acting formally and holding themselves in such a manner. Like… behavior wise… I didn't have to understand what they were saying to him. I just knew they recognized him.

It wasn't long before the fun began. Kai and Hope had to act as translator.

We were given loose fitting clothes and there was this huge hot tub like pool we got to relax it. The water was so warm and relaxing. Kai didn't really want to get it at first. But he was talked into it. So he sat near the steps with his head rested on the edge of the pool.

Shirtless once more… his scars to show the world. No bandages either. The scars I had not seen yet were uglier than the rest. And I felt sick looking at them.

After that, Kai disappeared for a while.

Hope got literally what I would call the whole royalty deal… but the occasion fit it. Sabrina and I didn't do too much but it was nice.

I got a chance to spot Kai before he regrouped with us. It was cute. The door was only slightly cracked open but I spotted him lying on his stomach on a table with large black stones on his back. His arms were folded and his head was turned so I could see it. Eyes closed and a relaxed smiled.

He was adorable. He knew I was there because the door closed right in my face. And no one was around to touch the door.

He finally caught up with us what must have been an hour later. He was wearing his normal clothes and I could see bandages on his arms.

Hope had said this was the last thing we were going to do before we left. Tattoos… which had scared Sabrina at first. Kai laughed when I told him.

He had taken a seat next to me and watched the beautiful design being drawn on my hand.

"Did you enjoy your morning?" Kai asked.

"Yeah, I'm glad I got to do this." I smile watching my hand. "Did you enjoy your massage?"

"I did as a matter of fact." Kai smiled. "But it is rude to watch through cracked doorways."

I look up at him and frown. "Well, I'm sorry you are so cute."

I felt my face get dark red. With my spare hand, I try to hide it.

Hope laughs from where she is sitting. "Aww… young love at its best."

"Why did you tell Hope about all this?" I ask.

Kai also looks red. "I don't even know anymore."

Sabrina takes her cue. "Kai and Anna sitting in a tree… k-i-s-s-" Her voice was suddenly cut off.

Kai was watching her with a deadly serious expression. He was doing it.

"Kai, please don't strain yourself. Sabrina, please be nice to them…" Hope orders.

Kai looks down. "Sorry about that."

It's quiet for a while. I just watch my hand and Kai watches his own.

"Hey, Kai," Sabrina says from a seat over. "You should get one."

Kai looked up and his face got a little red. "I don't think I have a spot to put one." He says slowly.

I think for a moment. "Really?"

"You saw me shirtless," Kai says easily.

I think for a second. "Don't you have a small spot on your forearm that is rather clear?" I ask.

"No," Kai says showing me the bandages.

"Then the back of your hand." I point.

"Everyone can see it there." Kai sighs.

"Oh," I mutter. "So you don't want one?"

Kai's quiet for a moment.

* * *

He was talked into it. The women who did his apparently called it cute. At least that was how Hope translated it.

It was a Chinese quote apparently.

我們最大的榮耀  
是不是從不失敗,  
但在上升每到秋季。

And he got it on the back of his hand. He showed it to me as we left and translated it.

 _"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."_

It's by Confucius. Which apparently is one of Kai's favorite scholars. He also knows a lot about Confucianism. Which he explained was just one of the many philosophies of life that he has studied.

Once he got talking about Confucius it led to Laozi, which then lead to about five other people. There was no hope in remembering all the names he said to me. I got to the point where I just nodded along as he lectured.

Once we got to the place Nanda snapped at him, apparently about talking my ear off.

I swore to him I would never bore him with science ever again, and if I did he could tell me all about the "Four Books" and "Five Classics' whatever they were. I have a feeling he will remember this deal.

But the best part was that Kai's free. He's not hurting right now. He gets to be himself and not worry about life.

It's like watching birds fly, he seems so natural.

* * *

That night I was given a beautiful dress. And Nanda helped me get it on. Kai sat on the other side of the room divider translating when Nanda needed me to move a certain way.

It's awkward, but I am getting used to it. The whole needing a translator part of this trip.

The ceremony was in All-Speak. And then the banquet afterward was in All-Speak too.

I asked Kai about it and he explained that royal events like this are to be conducted in All-Speak to honor the late Immortals of K'un-Lun.

Kai spent his time talking to some adults. He seemed relaxed and like he was enjoying himself. I was only half having a good time. For starters, someone had offered me wine. When I gave them a quizzical look they left me along.

"You know; Kai is bragging about you." A voice behind me spooked me.

I turned to see Queen Aiko. In a rush, I did some half bow mess that I had no clue why I did.

She dismissed the mess of the gesture easily.

"He is?" I asked. I looked over to him.

"Yes, he's talking about the prosthetic you made him because it is mechanical science, no extremely high tech technology involved, there is a small audience for that here." Queen Aiko replied. She looked down and me and offered me her cup that she was holding. "Here, it is just water."

I slowly took it from her. "Thanks." I took a refreshing drink.

"It's a cultural thing, but I don't care much for wine either." Queen Aiko shrugged.

"Oh, ok…" I don't know how to reply.

"You look cute tonight. And I did notice that Kai must have been talked into a Henna Tattoo." Queen Aiko pointed out.

"Is this how he normally acts?" I ask softly.

"Yes, most of the time. When he's in loads of pain or sick he turns more in on himself. But I wouldn't completely call my son introverted. He likes people." Queen Aiko smiled. She looked to me. "Why do you ask?"

"I've learned more about him in this week than I have in nearly the year he was in New York," I mutter.

"To be expected." Queen Aiko sighs. "He's like his father. What have you learned about him?"

"He likes spicy stuff and is a major nerd. I would never have known that he knew everything about ancient Chinese philosophy." I comment.

"Just don't get him started on mythology." Queen Aiko laughs. "He can name almost every Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, and Tibetan deity and tell you about them. You likely cannot find a myth he doesn't have at least some knowledge about."

"And I would have never know looking at him in New York," I comment.

"What is even more interesting is even though he never really does any physical training, he has the same mindset as Hope when it comes to fighting. He knows all the mental aspects and tools." Queen Aiko adds. "He can read people like a book. That he gets from my father."

"He's so quiet in New York, he doesn't want to have anything to do with people it seems like," I mumble. "It's just strange to see this flip side of him."

Queen Aiko thinks for a moment and I take another drink. "Have you tried to pull him out of his shell? Has he been included in the team, despite having his limitations?"

"Um… I tried to get him to open up, I thought if I made him a prosthetic and spent time with him, he would open up." I explain. "And the second thing… we don't really include him. We all make our own efforts to hang out with him… but it never works. I think the only time we have really all hung out was at my house for Thanksgiving. And even then, he was stiff as a board."

Queen Aiko sighed. "I don't know what to tell you. He's special. It could just be the wrong approach."

"Maybe." I sigh. "I really like hanging out with Kai, it means a lot to me that he's my friend. Or at least to know he has a friend, his age."

Queen Aiko just smiles at me like she knows something. She laughs a little to herself.

Nanda walks up to us. She smiles at me softly and bows to Queen Aiko is so much grace, I wish I could at least manage that once. "敗犬女王...有一些東西需要您注意的時候了。" She speaks.

" ** _Of course._** It was very nice to speak with you, Anna. I need to go, have a good evening." Queen Aiko says as she starts to walk away.

"Sure, you too," I reply best I can. "Um, Your Majesty…"

Queen Aiko turns back and gives me a little wave.

I look back over to Kai. He was still talking with the same adults. He looked so relaxed. I really hope this side of him stays.

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and Ideas.**

 **A/N: Ok, I am so tired. I have been working all weekend it feels like, but I haven't. I still have homework to do. I'll get to it later. Anyway, Eli is a submitted character from Nobel Six. He'll hopefully show up again. I don't really have plans yet. Not much to say. Read and Enjoy!**

 **P.S. Happy National Comic Book Day! (September 25th)**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218- Yeah, this chapter kind of shows more splitting. Like the end… yup… Kai does belong in K'un-Lun. Yes, yes. Teen hormones. The best! I really enjoyed the part where Anna found out just how big a nerd he is. Because he really is. And I love the prosthetic thing too because you've seen the future. He uses it for the rest of his life. As much as he can. Hope would have Davos and Wendall's mixture of aggressive personalities, although it is not always shown. So she gets it from both sides. As far as Kai's relaxed side… only time… Enjoy.**

 **Nobel Six- Eli's first appearance. He will not be a major character. But I think I will use him again. I have a scene I wrote with him in it for practice and it was so fun that I think it will come up again. I want to go more in-depth and play with him.**

* * *

 **Chapter 17**

* * *

It's been a while since I've seen Kai. He came back earlier this week, with Hope. I'd seen Hope around. She wore her wedding ring on a necklace. She had developed the habit of playing with it. I thought it was sweet.

Jun did seem like a nice enough guy, even though I never really saw him. Or talk to him. But it all seems sweet.

Kai said Jun is a great guy.

Walking into the first day of school was great. I need the routine in my life. I didn't see Kai until the second period.

The first period for each of us is a foreign language; Latin for Kai, Spanish for me.

I walked into Honors English and Kai was already there. He was in a wheelchair sitting at a regular table.

I walked up and took the closest seat. "Hey, Kai." I smile as I placed my books down. "What's with the wheelchair?"

"Wheelchair bound. First nine weeks." Kai says like he must have a billion times.

"Oh, well… are you doing well?" I ask.

"No, I haven't been sleeping well," Kai replied holding his head.

I noticed the long sleeves. He was wearing an extra-large midtown jacket; I am certain he really just wears a small. And baggy sweat pants. I looked down at his leg under the table and noticed the strangest thing.

A beautiful young German Shepard was laying on the floor. When it made eye contact with me its tail started to wag.

"Who's that?" I asked softly. "I am guessing I can't touch."

"This is Orson," Kai says easily. "You aren't supposed to…"

"Orson?" I ask. "What do you and your family have with that name?"

Kai looked up at the ceiling and gave a weak smile. "Oh, nothing. But there is only one Orson." He looks back down at me. "If you know what I mean."

I look back at the dog under the table. "Magic?" I ask.

Kai nods. "What else?"

He's pulling back. I can't tell if it is just being at school or what. He could be pulling back because he is in New York again. Or… who knows besides Kai…?

* * *

The English teacher is new this year… but I guess she is going to be ok. She was nice enough and she smiled at everyone. She walked up to Kai and made sure there wasn't anything he needed. Kai was embarrassed by the attention but declined the offer.

Chemistry was next. We got to go into the lab. Which was not fun for Kai.

The teacher led us in and pushed Kai's wheelchair right up to a lab station that looked specifically for anyone with a problem standing.

"So." The teacher began. "If you ever have any kind of injury where you need crutches of you are unstable. You need to let me know because you have to use this station right here." She pointed right at Kai who had his head down. "You may have to schedule to do it in another class though because we have Kai here." She smiled at him. She was just joking. I know he didn't think it was funny.

That wasn't the worst of it. Once she gave everyone an assignment she walked right up to Kai and started being just too casual.

"So do you have to have Orson with you all the time?" She asked.

"No," Kai replied softly. I listened in as I scanned over the safety procedure.

"So when we come in here you are good with Orson staying in the other room?" She pressed on.

"Should be," Kai replied.

"Alright because some things we do in here night scare him and I don't want him to freak out or anything." She explained. "Also do I need to know anything about you? Like we use fire a good deal in this class, lighting matches and using burners. That stuff won't scare you will it?"

Kai doesn't reply for a moment.

"Nudge." Kai's breathing is uneasy.

Orson responds right away and I watch.

Orson put his fount two paws on Kai's lap and nosed him until Kai started to pet him. Kai's stare was distant.

I know exactly what this is. A panic attack. I look around. A few people were watching now. Kai had just told Orson to do something. People were interested.

"Nudge," Kai repeated. His voice only sounded a little worried.

Orson, this time, licked his face.

Kai shook his head and buried it in Orson's coat. He stayed that way for a moment.

"Do you need to go outside?" The teacher asked.

Kai nodded quickly.

She motioned to the back door that was close to his seat.

"Orson, off," Kai commands. "Leave."

Orson obeys and I have to be impressed with his intelligence. He calmly walks beside Kai as he uses what upper body strength he has to get out of the room.

I watch the door although I can't see outside of it. The third class of the day and he is already having a panic attack.

I feel horrible for him…

* * *

After that Kai went to the library, Coulson gave him an aid position. Kai explained that the librarians knew about the fact he was rather physically weakened. And they had just told him to rest or take a nap.

Next was Algebra 2, fun enough. Kai was once more in my class. He said he was fine and pushed all questions aside. Taking his seat next to me in the front row, I had to move a chair out of the way for him to get into the spot but it was fine. The teacher smiled at him and said nothing. She also seemed nice. And once more she knew me by my name, thank you parents. She butchered "Kaito Natsu Rand." Just like everyone else has all day.

And then after that, we were together for an AP History, and then apart once more. Kai off to the library for a Chinese class online. And I got to go to Health. It's a half-year class I am splitting with art. I'm not old enough to take Drivers ED yet.

And then the eighth period we are back together or AP Phycology. I don't know about how great block schedule is going to work out. But today was fine, we went to all eight classes. But AP Psych? Not the best idea for Kai. But he was really good it. We did this "Get-To-Know-You" bingo thing and he easily checked a few boxes on the paper. He's traveled internationally. The cover story just says China. He clearly had a dog. I didn't let him sign that one on my page, I don't count Orson as a dog because I know otherwise. He also crossed off on a lot of papers that he was multilingual.

I stretched my arms as I stood beside Kai in the hallway as he put some things in his locker.

"So you only had one today?" I ask him.

"Two." Kai corrects me. "Can we not talk about it? I am just ready to go home. I don't want to go to therapy."

"Sure," I say as Kai passes off his backpack to me and I put it on the back of his wheelchair. He closes his locker.

I stand behind him and push his wheelchair as Orson walks along side.

It was quiet for a while except for a few freshmen boys.

' _Three o'clock._ ' Kai's voice says in my head. ' _New SHIELD recruit._ '

' _Really?_ ' I ask him back. There stood two boys. One with blood red died hair and brown eyes, his face had a scar, and the other one was bigger and had brown hair and blue eyes.

' _Guess._ '

' _Scar?_ '

' _Correct._ '

I continue on the way. No need to stop and say hello I guess.

We met up with Hope and Sabrina not much later and Hope drove us to the Tear Drop Memorial. The main landmark near the SHIELD Base.

Once we got the main building Kai went to therapy. And was gone. He was worn out. I really hope for his sake that today is not physical therapy. But I don't think he would exactly comply with his psychologist. I bet he just wants to sleep.

I walked into court and went to the locker room to change. Today was going to be a long day of training.

* * *

Kai seemed to be handling everything ok. He was getting good at handling himself at school. He still had no control over his panic attacks, however. He almost had a severe one during AP Psych. He left quickly and before the teacher could yell at him I walked up to her desk and started to explain his panic attacks.

She actually had already been told but had forgotten.

Today is Friday. Finally; B Schedule day. Just have AP Psych to get through. I meet Kai there because it is really out of the way to pick him up. But we meet up on the way.

I guess Kai's luck of being able to handle himself has run out. I was walking down the hallway and there it was. A huge group of people.

I pushed my way up to see Kai was getting pushed around. He was in pain. And this was scary. He was also bleeding. I didn't notice it at first but one of the scars on his scar had to have been opened up. Orson was acting aggressively but Kai must have given him a command to not do anything.

I watched as the jerk picking on Kai grabbed him by his shirt and easily lifted him out of his wheelchair.

It must have been instinct. But Kai did the smartest and dumbest thing he could do in that situation.

Kai easily wiggled himself out of his sweatshirt and dropped to the ground. He was free of being held, hostage. But he wasn't wearing another shirt under the sweatshirt. His chest was wrapped up completely, as were most of his arms. You couldn't see much skin on him.

When he fell he landed on his side and curled up. Orson jumped into put himself over Kai.

This was really bad.

"Hey! Jerk!" A voice shouted. I looked around and sure enough, there was the kid, the one that Kai had pointed out earlier. Died blood red hair and brown eyes, with a scar.

He was fast. He expertly slid into the fight and easily landed as strong blow across the guy's jaw.

The big kid stumbled backward.

"Come on, at least pick on someone you can level with." The freshman said. He started to bounce like some street fighters. "Unless, you know, you are scared of me?"

He was decent. He blocks three punches and got hit by two. Landed four hits and missed six. If this is who Kai was talking about; he better have some other skills. His fighting is not great. Especially compared to other heroes SHIELD has. Like Hope, for example.

The fight was broken up quickly. A hand grabbed the bully before he could punch. Coulson was right there. Hope was between the boys and easily got the freshman in an arm lock to hold him down.

"That's enough. Both of you to my office, now." Coulson demanded.

Hope let the kid go and walked over to help Kai.

I- I had forgotten about him! Just for the fight!

She stroked Orson a few times to calm him down he backed away. Growling at all the kids who tried to get close. Hope sat him up and I walked over. "Are you ok?" I ask.

Kai wrapped his arms around Hope. He didn't say a word, he just held onto her.

"你還好嗎？" Hope asked.

"我想回家。焜倫。" Kai replied. I heard K'un-Lun, the last thing he said was "K'un-Lun."

"怪盜…" Hope sighed. She hugged him back. "這是你的決定。沒有人會阻止你。"

Kai nods to her. "I know." He mutters.

Hope easily picks him and puts him in his wheelchair and ties Orson's leash to the side. "Anna, go ahead to class. I'll take him to the nurse."

"Sure." I nod. I just start walking away.

I walked into Psych and sat down without a word. Everyone was talking about the fight.

I don't want to think about it. But I understood one thing that Kai said in Chinese. I understood K'un-Lun. It's said that same in English and Chinese. I just don't know what Kai said about it…

But I would guess… he wants to go home.

* * *

I walked into court and the strangest thing greeted me. Two boys were standing to the side talking.

One was in a costume. And I didn't recognize him. And the other was the kid from the fight today.

I walked up. "Um, who are you guys?" I ask.

"Omni." The costumed one replies.

"Eli." The other said with crossed arms.

"Ok, Um… I'm White Tiger." I introduce.

"We know," Eli says with a bored tone. I look him over. I can't help wonder what his powers are.

The doors open and Spirit walks in and everyone else follows here.

"Tiger, so you've met the newest recruited heroes?" She asks.

SHEILD is always recruiting. Always. There are so many teams. Different groups cover different areas of New York and some are in other states. A few in other countries, government permitting.

But it was common for them all of them to feed through New York Head Quarters before getting sent out. "What division are you two going into?" I ask.

"New York," Omni replies easily.

So here… I'll be working with them…

"Eli go ahead and change. Changing room is over that way." Spirit pointed.

"Sure," Eli says as he starts to walk off.

"What about Omni?" I ask. I don't have any other name to call him.

"Anna." I turn. And no one was there but Omni. And his mouth was covered by a mask. But it had to be him. His eyes smile. They are piercing blue.

"What?" I ask alarmed.

"你不應該這樣做。" Spirit said walking up to Omni.

How many times must I say I want to learn Chinese before I actually do it?

"什麼是回來的地步？教育？我想成為一個英雄。" Omni replies quickly.

"但你不夠強。" Spirit says looking down at him. She gets to wear heels. Unfair… I'm not allowed to.

"我想訓練。我必須從現在開始。也許明年我可以在現場工作。" Omni argues, I want to know what they are saying.

"做什麼，救出從樹上的小貓？" Spirit laughs.

Omni doesn't reply. He looks hurt. "You know I can do it." He says weakly in English. "You know I can."

Spirit looked at him and in one swift move knocked him off his feet. He doesn't make it to the ground before he floats himself and then levitates himself back up.

"Look, I know you can handle yourself just fine. But I am not so naive to think that you are going to be able to be a hero right away. It's still too soon." Spirit holds out a hand lightly. "Ezitengam." She commands.

Omni falls to the ground. He seems stuck. He sits up but can't move his left leg.

"What did I tell you?" Hope asked.

Omni struggles more. "Let me go." He commands.

"Esael-erlleps," Spirit says.

"Your sister has a point, Omni," Mimic says walking up to Omni and pulling him up. "You are still really on the mend."

"Wait… Sister?" I mutter aloud. I didn't recognize Kai. I look him over. I couldn't even tell… he didn't look anything like Kai except the build. His hair had even been belched!

"Kai?" I ask.

His eyes smile once more. That's him confirming it.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!" I scream at him without a moment to think about it. "YOU MAY HAVE POWERS BUT YOU ARE NOT GOING ON MISSIONS! DO YOU WANT TO DIE? AND NOT TO MENTION ALL THOSE PANIC ATTACKS YOU HAVE HAD ALL WEEK! YOU ARE INSANE? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?"

I went too far. The moment the last question gets out of my mouth I slap my hand over it.

Kai's eyes get serious. And angry. He turns around and starts to walk away. He's just going to leave. He doesn't want to talk to me.

But I can't let him lock himself up and cry. I have a feeling that is where he is going. He is sensitive.

"Hey, I'm sorry!" I shout as I try to run after him.

I freeze. I don't have control anymore. I feel my feet lifted off the ground and I am gently pushed backward and put down where I started. By the time I can move again Kai is out the door.

"Ouch." Mimic mutters. "That's cold."

Hope holds up her arms that has this gauntlet thing on her lower arm. She touched a few things and a holographic screen appears with Chinese on it. She types a few things in and there it a moment before a reply appears.

She puts her arm down right as Eli walks back out. He looks pretty cool.

Spirit takes charge. "Alright. We've wasted enough time. Let's get to work."

"Where did Omni go?" Eli asks me.

"Don't know. I made him mad and he walked away." I explain. I feel guilty.

"Oh, he seemed pretty cool." Eli shrugged. He pulled a gun out of a holster. He looks it over.

"Is that firing live ammunition?" I ask him slowly.

"Paint Balls for training purposes. Don't want to hurt anyone. And yeah, it washes out with enough soap." Eli replies. He looks me over. "Seeing as you are wearing white that might be something you need to know."

"Thanks." I reply.

* * *

That night, I walked into my room wondering how badly I had hurt Kai by screaming at him. Most people would shake it off, some might need a few days.

But, I screamed at someone who has been diagnosed with a mental disorder of sorts.

I had asked him if he wanted to die and what was wrong with him.

Stupid!

I'm a horrible person.

Completely horrible.

I don't blame him if he wants to just get up tomorrow and leave New York forever. I wouldn't blame him if he never wanted to talk to me again. I messed up this time. Really bad.

"I'm the worst hero alive…. Like ever." I mutter so myself as I laid in my bed. "Worst."

There was this horrible feeling in my stomach. Kai was hurting, he still is, and I had not helped today.

Kai wants to be a hero. He wants to help people. That is his motive right?

I guess so… what's any hero's motive?

Besides dead loved one of course... It's in all sorts of comics that Dad has in the attic. And it's actually really accurate.

But what I did to Kai...

That is just like someone shutting me down; telling me I cannot have a job with SHIELD when I get older. Or that I can't do any more science and math ever…

I guess it stabs him in the gut.

I turn onto my side. He'll never want to talk to me again.

I ruined it…

Whatever relationship we had. The whole "dating-kind-of-but-we-aren't-really-together-together."

Whatever that is, or was, or whatever... I think I can kiss it goodbye.

And it's my fault.

I ruined it...

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and ideas.**

 **A/N: I'm going to introduce the villain soon I've just been cranking out chapters of Lights and I have not bothered to work on much else. And then the horror story we all know… not Halloween… But school… I have been booked between commitments to the point I am writing this stuff at lunch. Anyway… I have a few Halloween one-shots… that will have to be saved for this weekend because I have been so busy. Going to keep this short. Enjoy!**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218- Yeah, this chapter kind of has something in it to address Kanna. And address Kai and wanting to go home. His insight to all of that.**  
 **I have a teacher just like the one Kai does. She teases almost all of us, with best intentions. But for Kai's situation. He does need to be treated with care.**  
 **Kai and Danny are alike. In a recent interview, Finn Jones said that Danny Rand does suffer from "PTSD" in the show because of everything that has happened to him. Another thing making the two similar.**  
 **Kai gets to show off some skills in this chapter. I hope you enjoy that.**  
 **Anyway... let's get this started!**

 **Nobel Six- Eli will be in a few more chapters. I cannot promise anything but he appears again and I expanded on him some and used some of the info you gave me. Hope I did the character justice!**

* * *

 **Chapter 18**

* * *

I was right about Kai. He ignored me for a week. He let me push him from class to class. But he didn't talk to me unless he had to. And if he had to, it was related to school.

I asked him for homework answers when I skipped two on my history worksheet and he ignored me. I had to scramble to get the answers from other people.

I asked Hope about it. She said I had just really upset him and he didn't want to talk to me. She didn't have any advice about how to fix my problem.

Eli thought it was amusing when he showed up for training. He thought Omni was really cool and I was being a jerk.

I saw Eli talking to Kai at school. But he hasn't made the connection yet… I didn't even know until someone told me. His costume was magic and I thought it was great.

But he would hardly look at me. The entire week of school.

Rumors about Kai were everywhere. No one knew why he was covered in scars. Some of the stories were self-harm. Others were closer, with kidnapping or abuse.

I doubt anyone would guess the truth. But it was sad to listen to. Kai would sit in class and hear them. No one tried to even keep it from him. A few girls got brave and asked him one day.

He didn't respond for a moment and told Orson to 'block' and then 'nudge'. I learned the 'nudge' trick is to try to snap him out of a panic attack before one happens. Like when he feels panic coming on and gets scared.

But the thing was, some part of my mind thought that was an act to get people to leave him alone.

He's been back for a while. And with him ignoring me I almost fell hostile toward him. I don't want to… but I can't help it. I want him to talk to me. I'm not going to be the big one in this situation. I don't want to have to be the mature one.

It's Friday on A Schedule. So I Kai isn't in this class. But Hope is giving me a ride to the Triskelion after school. I guess I'll try to be mature about this when we get back home. I want him to talk to me again.

* * *

Kai has six days of therapy a week. Three days of seeing the phycologist. Three days of physical therapy. And then two days of occupational therapy. Hope said the physical therapist is pushing him to get him an extra day. But he already has to double up on some days. It's just because each one wants to have him more and more to help him. Although he is improving.

I asked Hope. Friday is physical and seeing the phycologist. I got Hope to tell me so I could try to catch him afterward and try to apologize.

There is a whole area on the floor above the medical wing that is for all types of therapy and stuff.

I let myself into the gym. Sure enough, it was rather empty. It looked as though no one had been there.

I'm not going to go bother his phycology session. I just start to head back to the labs.

I missed the only chance I was comfortable with.

Kai's upset with me and I want to apologize to him but he will not listen. It's that and I have not taken a chance.

Maybe it is for the best that we are not a couple, or even pretend to be one.

"Anna." A voice shakes me from my thoughts. I look up at the empty hallway and Kai was standing off to the side.

He was wearing his new prosthetic and was using forearm crutches to walk. He wore a short sleeve shirt and gym shorts, which is a little shocking. He hasn't dressed like that outside of K'un-Lun. His shorts are long enough that I cannot see the stub of his leg. Only his prosthetic.

"Hey, Kai… I am sorry for yelling at you, I wasn't thinking." I start quickly. "Do you think you can forgive me?"

Kai watches me for a while. "Yes, I forgive you. I am hurt. But I understand it came from you caring about me." Kai half-smiles. "But I want you to understand. There is not much to be gained from being here for the education for me. I am here because I want to do something. I want to be a hero."

I look down at my feet. "I'm glad you want to do something. But I am just worried about you. I know it is rude to bring it up. But I care about you, and I am worried about your PTSD."

I look up at Kai waiting for him to be angry with me. But instead, he simply looks at his foot. "Hey, do you want to come over to my apartment and watch a movie or two? Sabrina is letting me borrow all the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movies that she has."

He does not look up at me.

"Um… sure…" I reply. "Sounds fun I guess."

Kai smiles at me. "I am sorry about blowing up at you, by the way." He starts to lead the way.

"What?" I ask.

"I haven't been able to control my emotions… and… I took it out on you. You have a point much like Hope does. Maybe I am not ready right now… but in a few months. I might be able to be a hero." Kai sighs. "I am getting better, though."

"I can tell." I smiled. I sort of can… he's better right now than at school.

It is a quiet as we walked to his apartment. When we got inside I smiled at the mess.

And I was cold. He had the air turned on and down so it was rather cold.

It's the weekend but Kai had all his papers spread over the coffee table. It was a little worrying to see the mess… but I didn't say anything as Kai handed me the movies and he went to make popcorn.

He levitated two large bowls of popcorn over to us and took a seat on the couch.

He sat down and the bowls placed themselves on the table. Kai easily took off his prosthetic leg and covered himself in a blanket. He reached for his bowl and sat it in his lap.

Kai looks up at the ceiling. "Anna…" Kai starts.

"Yeah?" I ask. I had almost got the movie started.

"So… um… I would like to talk to you…" Kai sighed. "I just wanted to make sure that we are doing ok. I don't think we really need to be a couple or anything."

I look over at him. "What do you mean?"

"I don't want to hurt you…." Kai sighs. "Like… um… I just don't want to hurt you."

I smiled up at him. "It's ok."

"Anna… I know you a little better than that." Kai says softly. "I feel horrible about this."

"Hey. Look at me." I say quickly. "I don't care. I care about your personal well-being more than a relationship. Got it?" I ask him quickly. "And I kind of knew this was not going to last wrong. It's just… one thing doesn't make sense."

"What?" Kai asked.

"You were diagnosed with PTSD when this whole relationship thing started. Why did you agree to it?" I ask.

"I thought it would help. But it did not. I feel like I hurt you." Kai sighs.

I started the movie and walked over to him. "Look, I am fine. You just need to relax and not worry about me. Worry about yourself."

Kai smiles weakly. "I will try to, but… I just want you to know how I am seeing things… I feel like my world is on fire sometimes."

"You are ok," I assure him.

"I wish this were all that easy." Kai smiles.

"Me too. I wish you didn't have to go through everything that you did." I sigh. "If you could go back and change anything in your life, would you?"

Kai doesn't answer for a while. "I don't think I would…" He says softly. "This is my life. I wouldn't change it. I am happy."

"You are happy?" I ask him weakly. It doesn't sound right.

"I have a great life. Things happen… everyone will suffer at one point or another. Some… some will suffer more than others." Kai says easily. "'Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.' Khalil Gibran said that."

"Who?"

"A New York author who lived a few hundred years ago." Kai smiles. "Never take the internet for granted. I have grown to appreciate the convince on occasion."

"Yeah." I laugh. "I guess so."

I reach for the remote and start the movie.

I was absorbed in the movie. So was Kai. By the time the third one was half way through he had passed out on the couch.

He was on his side all curled up. Orson had joined us. Hope has opened a portal between the two rooms.

When the third movie was over, I turned everything off. I left Kai where he was. A note propped up on the empty bowls to tell him I had gone home.

I touched his forehead before I left. He was making faces of pain while he slept.

He was burning up. Even in the freezing room. I got a cold rag and placed it on his forehead careful to not wake him up.

* * *

Omni carefully dodged as I took some swings at him. I was holding back. And moving slowly. Much slower than I normally would.

He was holding up well. Eli was a little jealous that Omni got 'special treatment' or whatever. But Kai hasn't had any formal training in…. five years or so. He needed to slow down. That and his health is still in the yellow. And he is still majorly at risk of panic attacks. They are regular about three or four bad ones a week.

Eli's not half bad, his code name is 'War Shot'. He is a really good shot.

Omni took a punch at me. He hits hard as I have learned. I easily dodged out of the way. Side to side.

"You are doing pretty good." I compliment him.

"Thank you," Omni replied.

"Alright!" Spirit called. "Take a break. Omni, off your feet!"

"Yes, Spirit," Omni replied.

"Man," Eli said plopping on the bench next to Omni and myself, he pulled his mask off his face. It was a half face ski mask turtleneck. "Natural born red-head, isn't she?"

Omni also pulled off his bandanna of a mask. "She is always like this." He smiles.

Ok… he explained this to me… his costume is magic... he has this necklace that used to be his mom's. It honestly looks more like a rock on a string. But when he concentrated one the stone or something, he could chance from Omni to Kai and back.

"I will believe that." Eli sighed. "Also, why can't I spar with someone on my level?"

"Spirit is a great martial artist. She is great to learn from." Omni says easily. "She has trained with the best of the best."

"Why did she say for you to get off your feet?" Eli asked.

Omni looked down, his smile fell. "Old injury."

"How would she know?" Eli asked.

"Besides the fact, she is the leader, and she needs to know this kind of thing, she is my sister." Omni gave him a smile. The spell that changed Kai's appearance makes him look so much younger. It is strange.

"She must drive you crazy."

"On occasion," Omni replies easily. He starts to mindlessly massage his left knee.

"Hey, stop that." I get on to him.

"Sorry. It hurts…" Omni muttered.

"Well, you are not supposed to be messing with it." I correct.

"Jez… are you guys a couple?" Eli asks casually.

"Nope," I say easily.

"It's a long story," Omni adds.

"So a relationship went south?" Eli asked.

"Spirit did say you don't know what to shut up," I grumble.

"No, now you guys have to tell me." Eli presses.

"No," Omni says easily. "We are not so inclined."

"Must have been a mutual thing with the two of you. Because you don't hate each other now." Eli goes on.

Omni looks at him. Eli goes to talk more but no sound comes out.

Eli looks just as surprised. Omni levitates so he is upright but not standing. He closes his eyes and holds out an arm. His eyes shoot open and they are white. His hair is flying in a small wind. But not violently.

"Omni, that is enough," I warn.

Omni blinks a few times. "Sorry about that."

"Not a problem. Had it coming…" Eli chocked. "What are your powers anyway?"

"Well, since you too seem to be ready to get at it." Spirit walked over and crossed her arms. "Then how about you two begin sparing."

"Are you certain this is a good idea?" Omni asks.

"So certain… Eli, would you like to have BBs?" Spirit offers.

"Sure, what's the stats on the gun?" Eli said pulling up his mask.

"Not enough to kill anyone, it's been modified. But it will leave a bruise." Spirit smiles.

"Did you need to ask?" War Shot seems excited.

Omni… not so much. "Are you sure about this?" He asks.

"Omni, I am honestly more worried about you hurting him than him hurting you," Spirit says. "Although, I might be surprised."

"Spirit," Mimic says walking up. "Omni is still not in great shape…" She points out.

"I'm right here," Omni says harshly. "I can handle it." He sounds aggressive. Now I am worried about him hurting War Shot.

"Alright. Don't kill each other." Spirit warns as the two walk over and each take their places.

"Begin!" She shouts.

I hold my breath.

Kai… be careful…

War Shot reaches right to his leg and pulls a gun out of his holster. "So Omni…" He carelessly aims the gun. "What would you like to talk about?"

He pulls the trigger. And the next thing I know the wall behind Omni has a small dint in it.

If Omni gets hit it is going to hurt him a lot…

"You missed," Omni says casually as if a BB didn't just fly past him.

"I know. Consider that a warning shot." War Shot goes on. He steps closer and Omni still stands there casually. "So what did you say you wanted to talk about again?"

He's annoying. And he can't shut up to save his life. Can he?

Omni's hand twitch and I watch closely.

'Alright Kai, if you can hear me, show me why you should be a hero.'

Kai looks right at me. He heard me. He gives a sharp and subtle nod.

War Shot fires three move times and Kai does not move. The BB bullets hit the wall behind him once more.

"What?" War Shot asks. "I should have nailed you in the stomach!"

He reached for a second gun. "Ok them…"

Omni's hand pushed out to the side and War Shot's first gun is thrown to the side. He does the same and the second gun is also gone.

"You are a telepath, aren't you?" War Shot asks. "The whole telekinesis thing?"

"Yes, I am," Omni replies. His voice is a monotone.

"Ok then…" War Shot says.

Neither of them moves.

"That doesn't work on me," Omni says after a quiet moment. "You can throw off a novice telepath with metal screaming, but I am not a novice."

"Yeah, but I distracted you didn't I?" Eli asks.

He rushes forward and pulls a knife as the real fight begins.

Omni on the defense and War Shot on the offense.

"This is where both of their weakness are. Hand to Hand." Spirit says to us as we watch.

Omni is in amazing control. If I didn't know him, I would not know that he was using a prosthetic leg. He is able to slide from side to side with so much ease. It is amazing. I am in awe.

War Shot is much more rough in his style.

"Omni is reading his mind. Hearing each move before it happens." Spirit whispers. "War Shot can't get a hit while this goes on."

"Are you worried that they are going to hurt each other?" Danielle asks.

"I know I am." Piper mutters. "Omni is just so powerful… I've seen powerful people just get into this mental state they cannot snap themselves out of. And it is scary."

"If he gets out of hand," Spirit says. "I will use my magic. He has his one major weakness. His leg is metal."

Drake lets out a low whistle. "You can't tell by looking at him, though. He really does have fighting in his blood. Like you, Spirit."

Spirit just smiles to herself and pulls out her ring from under her shirt to play with as she watches.

"Agh!" Omni staggered backward holding his head.

What happened?

"You said only a novice falls for that move." War Shot taunted. "I guess you over estimate your own abilities. As much as this makes me a hypocrite. Don't get cocky."

Omni falls to his knees as War Shot retrieves the closest gun. He walks back up to Omni who is on the ground trying to recover from what much have been a mental overload.

"You want to call it, Red?" War Shot looks over at us. "I got your little brother pinned down. You would hate to be responsible for not ending thing right?"

"Worry… about… what's… in front… of you." Omni manages to get the words out.

"Omni?" Spirit asks calmly.

"I am not done." Omni gets to his feet weakly. "I'm fine physically before you ask."

"Then resume." Spirit waves her hand.

Omni's hand slaps out and the gun is pushed at an angle and a bullet that should have hit Kai's left thigh hits his prosthetic. Three bullets.

"What are you? Made of metal?" War Shot asks.

"Shut Up!" Omni warns dangerously. "You don't know the first thing about me!" Omni socked War Shot hard in the gut.

"Here it comes." Piper mutters.

"Ouch." War Shot complains. "That hurt."

Omni wasn't done. He easily swung around and knocked him in the head with his right leg.

War Shot fell to his knees. "Struck a nerve, now did I?" He asked.

"Shut up," Omni advised.

He took a few steps back. He reached down and touched the ground as it came to life.

It came to life as…

Snakes.

Interesting choice?

They were long. I would say eight to ten feet.

They were fast too. Making their way to War Shot and wrapping around him. Hissing and biting at him.

And War Shot was in a panic. "Hey! Get them off of me!"

He tried to throw them off but he couldn't. "Get! Off!"

They were wrapping around him and melting together to form one large snake. It's body twisting around War Shot like he was prey.

Spirit tensed next to me.

"Niartser!" She shouted. She held out her hands and mists shot at Omni wrapping around him.

"Tlem!" She also commanded. Her other hand she held out at War Shot. The snake slowly started to melt but was still getting tighter.

Spirit once more turned to face Kai. "Ytiv-i-rtcele-elttilaylno."

Omni instantly screamed. The bond sparked with electricity.

The snake was gone and War Shot had smartly retrieved a gun. He checked it over and held it in one hand. His other clutched his side.

"Esaeler!" Spirit shouted. "Esaeler! Esaeler!"

She sounded worried. I looked to her and back to Omni.

The spell was gone. But he was hovering above the ground.

Two words came to mind.

Panic. Attack.

The electricity had triggered it.

The room seemed to spin as the meatal that had been a snake started to move around Omni and orbit around him at different angles protecting him.

"No!" Omni shouted. "Get away from me!"

"怪盜。冷靜！" Spirit shouted in Chinese. "請！停止此！這一切都結束！"

"Peels-s-selmaerda-retne!" She commanded. Mists shot out as her command. It got past Omni's defenses. Not much happened.

"Nwod-mlac!" She shouted. "Tser!"

She was getting anxious.

War Shot held up the gun.

"Don't!" I rushed at him and snatched it away from him.

"What's wrong with you?" War Shot asked.

"He's having a panic attack. You will only make it worse if you shoot at him. Miss or not. It will send him into a worse mental state then he already is!" I explain.

"So he's a pity case?" War Shot asked.

"No, it's hard to explain. Stuff has happened to him in the past couple months, stuff no one should face. And he's traumatized." I feel my eyes get wet.

This old urge to help Kai starts to fill me again. My mind only sees the victim right now.

I bit my lip. I hate myself for seeing him like that.

I look back over as he falls to the ground. A spell catches him easily and Spirit is too stiff to approach him.

Tears stream down her face and she starts to violently shake.

I don't think anyone will ever understand what she has to go through. This has to be affecting her as well.

I slowly walk up to her and stand next to her for a second before I hug her around the stomach.

"I'm sorry." It's all I can manage.

"I've just given him a ticket to an overnight stay in the medical wing. He's had enough. He just wants to be left alone." Spirit mutters…

"I can imagine."

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and Ideas.**

 **A/N: So, I'm supposed to be studying for mid-terms... and I can't focus at all. So I guess time for a Fan-Fic break. I feel bad about not updating this one in a while. I am kind of weird like that, I am always writing multiple stories at once. And sometimes I get so into one, that I dont work on the others. That is kind of what happened here. I have a plan on my profile page for the rest of the year updates. So just check that out. Anyway, back to work... sigh... hope everyone else out there is surviving too! Enjoy this chapter!**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218- Yeah, it is kind of depressing, their whole situation. Kai is 13 at this point and Anna is a little older. So it is hard for them to be as mature as they are.**  
 **Eli was an OC that NobleSix shared with me, I played with him and figured I would give him a try to add a little something to the cast. And he does. I can see how you would compare him to Sam. I guess you could say that he takes that position. Eli is just a marksman with a mouth.**  
 **Kai and Danny. Yup. Just like each other. Anna has good reason to worry about Kai, they all do. I like the Omni side of Kai, his costume comes from the same stone that Aiko used to turn into Neon.**  
 **The fight was really fun to write. There is another fight in this chapter. Eli shot his prosthetic leg. It was strong enough to withstand the hit.**  
 **With the panic attacks, I've done my research. And it does not just magically go away fast. So Kai does have to struggle with it a lot. It does not mean he is getting worse. It just means it's still there. Although the fact he took it out on someone is a problem.**  
 **Villain, of sorts, introduced (finally) this chapter! Enjoy!**

 **Nobel Six- Glad to do him justice, he comes up some more. But I do not think he will become a very important character. But he is kind of fun to write. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 19**

* * *

Kai spent the rest of his weekend in the hospital wing. He was out for twenty-four hours.

I visited him. But he didn't want to talk. I just talked to him. I got him to smile at the end of my visit. He looked out the large window and smiled.

That night I went home and made the plan…

THE KAI SUPPORT PLAN

And I was not the only one working on it. I made a few copies. Hope was interested and thought it was a good plan. She took a copy of it. And Piper was also interested. Danielle and Drake agreed to show up when we planned to do things as a group.

It's amazing what has happened these past few weeks. Or months actually…

Kai's gotten better. I'm so happy for him… it's amazing!

I knocked on his door. My notebook and pen in hand. Another amazing idea of mine.

The door slid open. And I walked in.

So when I mentioned Kai was getting better. I meant mentally. He's still very weakened physically. But he's been on two patrols and done minor hero things. No villains yet.

Kai was nowhere to be seen so I walked up to his bedroom door and knocked again.

It easily slid over.

"Still in bed?" I asked walking in.

"Bù cuò. (Correct.)" Kai gave a nod.

I understood him! It makes me way too excited when I can understand Chinese! But then Kai starts to talk at a faster pace and I lose track.

"Uh… Zǎo ān! Uh…wáng zǐ Kaito! (Good Morning! Prince Kai!)" I stumbled over my words.

"Anna…" Kai says my name plainly. "I remember I asked you to not call me that."

"Bào qiān! Dǎo shī! (Sorry! Tutor!)" I exclaim. I've been practicing the basics for a few weeks. And I can speak some phrases fairly well.

"安娜，你不只是在這裡說中國話。你一會兒能說英語嗎？" Kai sighs as I walk over and take a seat on his bed.

"I didn't catch that," I state softly

"You were not meant to," Kai says as he pushed himself to sit up. "What time is it? What day it is?"

"Sunday. We have school tomorrow… and…" I look over at the clock on his bedside. "It is about 3 in the afternoon. Have you been asleep all day?"

"No… I just came in here to take a nap. I think I need to change the medications I am on again. I passed out after taking the last one." Kai yawns.

"I guess so." I smile at him. "Are you ready to begin with the lessons again?" I ask.

"Why are you so interested in learning Chinese?" Kai asks.

"Because I hear it all the time and it would be cool if I could understand you some and we could talk. Like a code." I smile.

' _It is called telepathy, Anna._ ' Kai smiles at me softly. ' _But I will not discourage you from learning a new language. I, myself, do enjoy how fascinating language can be._ '

"How many languages do you speak?" I ask.

"Three, if you count all-speak. I have picked up phrases in Japanese and Nepali. And Latin is fun." Kai smiles. He reached out and takes the notebook from me. "Ok… so let's see the new word list for today."

Kai didn't really know how to teach me Chinese, so he just had me make up a list and he would help me learn them. He threw in the grammar and other things as we went.

We had originally started off with basics like the whole 'good morning,' 'good evening,' 'hello,' 'goodbye,' and other things like that. 'Correct,' 'sorry,' 'tutor,' and I learned 'prince' on my own. It bothers Kai on occasion.

He's apparently just like his dad in that manner. Hates formalities.

"Ok, so…" Kai finished writing down what he called Pinyin. "So… go ahead and try this sentence."

I looked down at it and my head hurt.

你好，我的名字是安娜。- Nǐ hǎo, wǒ de míngzì shì ānnà.

"Um…" I look at it.

Kai smiles at me and gives me a nod to encourage me alone.

"Ok…"

* * *

"Omni, if you need to slow down just let me know." I call behind me.

Patrol.

Group One: Me, Omni, and Mimic.

Group Two: Spirit, Power-Man, and War Shot.

Dani had something else she had to do and didn't come along.

"I'm fine," Omni calls back as he hurries after me.

He hasn't been doing much running, so this fast pace is hurting him as we jump from building to building.

The impact of jumping really seems to hurt him. He is working on learning how to fly efficiently.

Mimic smiles. "You are doing very well, Omni."

"Thank you." Omni nodded in her direction as we made another leap.

He easily landed on the building, clearly floating. "I need to slow down." He admits. "I'm running out of breath."

"I think we covered our patrol route already. Let's go meet up with your sister." Mimic says, she lands and walks up to Omni placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Sure." Omni nods. "I could pass out once we get back."

"Homework," I say over my shoulder. "You wanted to be a hero, you are getting the whole package. AP classes and all."

Omni sighs. "I do not want to do my homework."

"You have a great cover going." Mimic smiles. "You know… I'm a shapeshifter and I felt like I have a hard time keeping a cover."

"And Spirit is going to want to train for an hour today. She needs the exercise. If you get all your homework done, Omni, you will need a miracle." I sigh over my shoulder.

"You forget that I am Omnikenetic. I have been practicing stopping time so that I can have the time to do my homework or finish a test in school." Omni smiles.

"Really?" Mimic smiles. "By the way, I need a tutor so I can do that too!" She smiles.

Omni just smiles. "I do not feel like I could ever manipulate time in a fight. It requires serious concentration."

I smile. "Seriously. We need to have a study session."

"Something is wrong," Omni says quickly. "I have this awful feeling about something." He holds his forehead.

"Are you ok?" I ask.

"Yeah." Omni lowers himself to sit down. "I'm fine."

"No, you are not." Mimic say, getting onto him sharply.

"It's not a panic attack, is it?" I ask quickly.

"No." Omni looks right past me.

He jumps to his feet and throws out his arm making a grabbing motion and then pulling pack with tons of force.

Nothing happens.

"Omni, nothing is there."

"Yes, there is." Omni replies, his glare is hard.

He ducks and then punches.

He's seeing things now….

Kai's fist lights up with electricity. Sparking all around his fist.

But the thing is, it looks like he hit something. The outline of a body sparks with electricity.

The body turns to black goop and melts to a puddle.

Omni takes a fighting stance.

He stayed in K'un-Lun to train. It makes sense.

It's like Nanda said; he is stubborn.

He must have stayed to learn so that he could be a hero. He's been wanting this for some time…

"Omni!" Mimic says sharply. "What was that?"

"Something," Omni replies. "It's not human."

"That still does not justify melting it." I snap at him as I bend down and reach to one of my pouches to get a container for a sample.

"What is it?" I ask.

Omni bends down on the ground. He pulls off a glove and places a hand into the puddle.

"Don't do that!" Mimic snaps at him.

It's strange. There is nothing at first.

Omni closes his eyes. Electricity sparks once more and I jump back.

The goop jumps to life and starts to climb up his arm.

Omni jumps and starts to pull back as it pulls him back until he faceplants into the building, landing face first in the puddle.

Nothing happens for a second and then Omni begins to struggle.

"Why is it always him?" I ask.

Omni pushes himself off the ground and his eyes start to turn white. The wind starts to pick up and his short white hair gets thrown around.

"Great." Mimic sighs. "I told him not to touch it."

"You did." I agree.

Omni breaks his hand free and thrusts in right back into the mess of goop.

He doesn't move as the goop does.

It's quiet for a second until the good begins to glow with bright white energy. Then it explodes from the inside.

Mimic squeals when it splashes on us. Omni is covered in what is left of the goop.

Omni slowly stands up and looked at us. "It does not make sense."

"What?" I ask. "It looks like Venom."

"It was a horrible attempt at cloning." Kai sighs.

"Do you know what it was a clone of?" I ask.

Omni looks up at the sky.

"What was that?" A voice startles us.

There is the other half of the team.

Omni turns around and Spirit is right in front of him.

"I just caused an explosion." Omni smiles from his eyes. "Nothing to worry about.

Spirit runs a finger down his face. Right down his nose. Collecting goop as she went.

"Care to explain this?" She asks.

"It's an attempt at creating an artificial human," Omni replies.

"Like cloning?" War Shot asks.

"Yes." Omni nods. "It's a bad attempt at that. The genetics are very unbalanced."

"What does that mean?" Power-Man asks.

"It means that when it was created, it was intended to have powers. And… it was not stable enough to handle the load. That and whatever was functioning as it's brain was a wreck. It was scatted all over the place." Omni explains.

"你知道誰創建它嗎？" Spirit asked.

"Bù cuò. (Correct.)" Omni nods.

I understood! Go me! Go Anna!

Now, what did Spirit say?

"Alright. Let's head back to the base." Spirit says sternly.

* * *

"So what I don't get, is how is a redhead so fluent in Chinese?" Eli says after the predicted hour of training Spirit put us through.

Eli doesn't seem to care about us knowing his identity, although he has been mad we wouldn't tell him ours.

Kai and Mimic are the only two who walk around in costume without the mask. But they both change appearances so it does not matter.

"We grew up in China." Omni shrugs. He walks up to a table and pushes himself so he is sitting on a table.

We were in Dad's lab.

Dad is not here. He is in a meeting.

"But are you guys Americans?" Eli asks.

"Um… Tiger?" Omni asks.

"Your dad was born here. Your mom wasn't. And you and your sister are not born here." I list. "I don't know this stuff."

Eli looks at us funny. "So, why did you blow up at me when we were sparring?" Eli asks.

"Because you are annoying." I fill in.

"Not you." He looks at me.

"Because you are annoying," Omni replies.

"No, I remember asking you if you were made of metal and you snapped at me." Eli presses on. "Are you made of metal?"

"No, I am human," Omni says.

"Are you half metal?" Eli asks.

"Shut up." Omni sighs.

"No, your leg... it was covered in something strong enough to withstand a bullet," Eli says. "I'm going to figure this out."

I look over at Omni. "This will be fun. I know how this is going to play out."

Kai is going to have his prosthetic ripped from him or something along those lines.

Omni frowns at me. "Thank you. Because " he taps his head, "I know exactly what you mean."

"Whatever happened to your promising to stay out of my head?" I ask him.

"Sorry!" Omni's face heats up. "I didn't mean to. It's just I let my guard down, because… and…"

He looks really guilty. "I'm sorry. Can I make it up to you with information?"

Eli sighs. "Get a room."

"It depends on what kind of information." I watch him.

He jumps down. The jump was a stumble. His leg was clearly messed with. It was a limp that he walked with.

"I'll get back to you with the information," Omni says. "I need to meditate on this first. Gather everything I can to help."

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and Ideas.**

 **A/N: Wow, I have not updated in a long time... Wow... to be honest, I've not had much time lately. And when I have been writing, I've been working on Lights mostly. So... I need to get back in the swing of working on this story. Hopefully, I'll update the next chapter much sooner. Anyway, I'll keep this short so you guys can get to this chapter. Read, Review, Enjoy!**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218- Midterms? That's how long it's been since I updated this? Wow...**  
 **I am ready for Kai to no longer be the victim of circumstances. He's ready to be the hero too. No longer the baby of the group, even if he actually is. I want to do a Kai and Anna one-shot soon about like school, or daily life or something... The WHOLE package.**  
 **Yeah, but Kai has Immortal blood. He's not pure human like others that Ock experiments on. And he has the scrying water inside of him too. I know Ock makes really good clones... so the fact that these are unstable have to come from Kai's mysticism. But hey, maybe this is someone new?**  
 **Alright... let's get to the long awaited chapter of the story! Enjoy!**

 **Nobel Six- Speaking of wait... I'm sorry this took so long to update! I've got to get better at this! Anyway, please enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 20**

* * *

"You have to be that kid from school…. um.. I don't know this name but he is the one with the bleached hair… uh… was it Adam?" Eli asked.

"No," Omni replied as she sorted through some papers he had just printed off. "You are not going to guess who I am. I don't even know you outside of SHIELD."

He walked over to me and handed me the papers. "This is everything I could manage to remember or find. Everything was coded in one way or another. I'm sorry it took so long."

I open the file and look over it. "Where did this come from?"

"SHIELD got all of the data from…" Omni stopped. "Uh… yeah… and… then… yeah."

I got the hint. "Right. You were MIA."

Omni's eyes smile. "Let's start calling it that, please."

"Fine." I nod. "So, who let YOU have access to this?"

Omni looks out the window. "Um… I manipulated a few scientists into giving me access. It took a few hours to decode everything but I got what I needed."

I put the papers down. "SHIELD has been trying to decrypt those codes since you got back, how did you do it?"

Omni pointed to his head. "I was patient. And I can change my thought process to mimic other's."

"Uh… that Straight A kid… Hunter!" Eli guesses.

"No," Omni replies. "We don't even go to school together."

"You are lying to me. You are baiting me along." Eli grumbles.

Omni shrugs. "Maybe I am, maybe I am not."

Eli rolls his eyes. "Well, I've got to jet, got to be home soon." He starts heading to the door.

"Hey, Red." He calls at the doorway. "Hey, Psychopath. Hey, Copycat."

"It's Mimic," Piper replies.

"Don't make me hurt you." Spirit's turn.

"I'm not a psychopath. I'm a high functioning sociopath. Do Your Research!" Sabrina snaps with a perfect British accent.

"What are you two doing?" Hope asks once the door shuts. She peels her mask off to give us her death stare.

I pass her the file. "Research. Kai was able to decrypt some of Doc Ock's notes. My dad hasn't even been successful at that yet. He's getting nowhere."

"Who let you anywhere near that stuff?" Hope snapped instantly.

"No one would willingly. So I took control and got what I needed." Kai answered.

"Which was?" Hope asked.

"I know what attacked me the other night. It was a clone of me." Kai says seriously. His white hair fell in his eyes and his blue eyes were icy cold.

"A what?" Sabrina and Piper both yell at the same time.

"No matter who the target was," I start. "Ock has always been in the business of making clones and armies. You were the target, you were the experiment."

Kai pages and reaches for a table behind him to lean on.

"Ok now, let's stay vague in the language. Not cause anyone to get upset or anything." Piper jumped in.

"It's the truth, Piper., Kai looks right at her. "I can handle it. I honestly can."

"Let's still keep it on the down low," Sabrina suggests.

"So clones of everyone's favorite Omnikenetic hero," I repeat. "That's dangerous."

"What you guys encountered the other night," Sabrina began. "Did have some genetics that matched up with Kai's. But, it was unstable."

"That's not all," Kai says. The file floats out of Hope's hands and floats in front of him as the pages move. "Page 25." He said as it floated over to me.

"It had thoughts. It was thinking. And it was scared." Kai says as I look at the data. "It was copying my own thought process of fear."

"Matching brain waves from incidents where I've had panic attacks." He shrugs numbly. "I think that also means it can learn."

I scan the data. It was producing fear-caused hormones. It was having normal human reactions to stress and fear.

"So, let's randomly say there is a machine popping these out every few hours. There's an unknown number out there." I suggest.

"We have to hunt them down and kill them all. There is no peaceful way to do this." I look over Kai. Not what I was expecting to hear from him. "SHIELD Scientists are about half way through making some type of biochemical weapons that will help us destroy it. Your Dad is leading that group, Anna."

"I think a good question is," Sabrina spoke up. "Is Kai going to be allowed to go on these missions? Or is he staying here with me?"

"Here."

"Going."

The siblings' responses were at the same time.

Hope glared at Kai. "Over my dead body."

Kai does not respond.

* * *

Omni swiftly moves as I attack him. I can't manage to get a hit.

Omni moves swiftly side to side around the court.

"You are actually a pretty good fighter."

"Thank you," Omni replies as he deflects a punch. "You are not bad yourself."

"So, this summer, were you training?"

"Much to Nanda's displeasure." Omni agrees. "I got my uncle to agree to train me. My grandfather would have been preferable. But he did not think I was strong enough to train. But my uncle does not believe in excuses."

"Ok…" I prompt him.

Omni strikes twice at my head and I move out of the way of both.

He grabs my arm and tried to twist it as I kick him and break away.

I start to watch his movements. They seem different. Not like Hope's fighting.

"So, mind if I ask a question?" I ask as I back up.

"What about?" Omni asks.

"Martial arts," I reply.

Omni relaxes. "We should take a break. I need some water."

"Sure." I nod walking over the bench and picking up my water bottle.

Omni joins me pulling off his mask and breathing heavily, walking with a limp.

"Are you in pain?" I ask.

"No," Omni says. "What was your question?"

"So… how many different martial arts are in K'un-Lun?" I ask.

"You could never count, when it comes down to all the individual disciplines of martial arts it gets messy," Omni replies.

"So your uncle trained you, what did he teach you?" I ask.

"Ninjutsu, Kung Fu, Muay Thai, Aikido." Kai shrugs. "He is a rougher fighter. His specialty is Muay Thai. But he taught me more Ninjutsu, and miscellaneous techniques that are suited to me."

I nod. "Hey, so another thing, I was working on the case. Doc Ock has made clones before, good clones. To the point, you could not tell that they were not human. What's up with that?"

"What do you mean?" Omni asked.

"Your clones are not stabilized." I point out.

Omni looks down at his hands and studies them. "Good question. It could be my Immortal heritage. I guess that is an option." Omni shrugs. "I think we need to shut this down at the source, track everything we can, and then take them out, one at a time, however long that takes."

"Wow, it sounds easier than everything else that's been going on." I tease.

Omni shakes his head. "What makes me different?"

* * *

"So, what are we doing here?" Mimic asked as she floated down the alleyway. "There is nothing here."

"You can't feel anything," Omni replied. "I can. There is one of the clones nearby. I need to get inside of its head and understand where it came from. If I can do that. Then we can hit the kill switch."

"Then why are all of us here?" War Shot asks.

"I can't keep it at bay and sort through the thoughts. It's too much to do all at once." Omni replies.

War Shot sighs. "Fine."

Omni looks around and closes his blue eyes. "Hm…"

They shoot open and he starts to walk forward.

"Um… Omni… your sister said that you are not supposed to be on this mission." Mimic warned. "If you get hurt, she will kill all of us!"

"I can protect myself," Omni replied.

"I know you are stronger than you look… but…" Mimic trailed off. "Just maybe this is not the best idea."

"Look, I can track them down better than SHIELD can. I can decrypt codes that no one else can." Omni looked up at Mimic. "If anyone should be on his mission. It is me."

"Ego." War Shot coughed into his hand.

Omni did not respond.

My stomach growls. "It's getting late. I'm hungry."

Omni looked at me and smiled from his eyes. He held out an arm toward me and closed his eyes.

I felt something in my stomach change.

"What was that?" I ask.

"I took away the mentality of being hunger." Omni smiled.

Then he snapped around. "We're being watched."

We all tensed up as Omni disappeared.

"Omni?" Mimic asked. "Where'd you go?"

"Huh!" A voice yelled as a large dent formed in a brick wall.

Omni reappeared holding a pitch-black figure against the wall. "What are you?" He demanded.

The figure looking human, it had a human body. But looked like a black void.

Omni watched it. His eyes were cold and lifeless.

The figure squirmed, trying to get free. But, Omni just held it in place.

"What's he doing?" Mimic asked.

I simply shrug. "No idea."

Omni takes a deep breath.

The brick wall that the clone was pressed against started to move and act like water. Wrapping itself around the clone. Holding it in place for Omni.

Omni takes a second before stepping back. "Keep an eye on it for me."

He takes some steps back and then sits down on the ground in front of his clone.

"What are you going to do?" Mimic asks.

"Get as much information as possible," Omni replies. "Just give me a few minutes."

I watch as Omni straightens out his back and the clone stuck on the wall watches him.

"So, is Omni that John kid with an ego?" War Shot asks.

I shake my head. "I can't stand that guy."

"Oh…" War Shot looks up at the sky. "I'll get there eventually."

"I highly doubt your ability to do that," I inform him.

"What is he trying to do?" Mimic asks from behind me.

"War Shot?" I ask.

Mimic nods.

"He is trying to guess Omni's alter ego," I explain to her.

"Oh…" Mimic trails off. "Good luck with that War Shot!"

"Why?" War Shot asks.

"You will not be able to." Mimic states plainly. "I would never guess it if I did not already know."

I look over at Omni, sitting and meditating. And getting into this inhuman creature's head.

I wonder if it really does think like Kai…

I pull my phone of the small inner pocket on my suit and I step forward.

"Is this the best idea, White Tiger?" Mimic asks. She had been floated above the ground and stepped forwards come.

"Hey, images of this think could be helpful to us," I say as I click the camera icon.

"Just don't make it mad." Mimic warns.

I walk over and look at it.

It looks like a shadow silhouette of Kai. It's his size. But the look it hard to explain. The eyes are dark and empty.

"If Omni would just hurry up that would help a ton." Mimic sighs.

"Getting jittery?" War Shot teases.

"Shut up." Mimic warns.

I snap a picture. Making sure the flash is turn off first.

"Are you a scaredy-cat?" War Shot goes on.

"I've seen worse creatures than this is space." Mimic informs him.

"Right, you are an alien." War Shot reminds himself.

I sigh and walk over to check on Kai. He seemed to be doing alright.

Omni flinched.

"What's wrong?" I ask him. "Omni!"

He doesn't move.

Mimic had walked over. She looked over to the clone. "Tiger."

I look at the clone too. It looks ticked off. I mean completely mad.

Omni's eyes opened and he walked over to his clone. "I know everything, now. Thank you for your help."

His hand goes right over where the clone's heart would be. "You and others like you? You're incredibly weak, I'm one of a kind. You can't copy me. And you can send this warning to all your little friends. Their time is limited."

Omni takes a deep breath. "And now? I know your true intentions. Your reasoning. Everything. I hold the cards. And the best one? I know your ultimate weakness."

Omni's hand passes right through the clone's chest.

What looks like a purple aura forms around the clone as it's structure comes completely undone. It falls apart right before our eyes. Disappearing into nothingness.

Omni just watches it with hard, unreadable, and emotionless eyes.

It's safe to say I am scared of him now.

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and Ideas.**

 **A/N: So I was going to update last weekend, but I never got the chance, I had work, and schoolwork, exams that I need to get a jump on and start studying for... The whole deal. So I will update as I can, by next month everything should be back to regularly scheduled updates!**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218 - Yeah, that might be my next one-shot ideas... I'm not sure about that though, have to get some ideas going. Hm... Kai and hacking? Yeah, he's improved greatly in that department. As much as Hope and Kai are like their parents... they aren't their parents. So they are much different and living in a different time.**  
 **Ah, not a Hiroshi mention. I actually reference Davos, he like Kai is an amputee, he is missing his right hand, which was cut off in a fight.**  
 **Eli and Kai, they are so different. I'm thinking about maybe playing with their alter egos. Play around with the two of them. I mean, in civilian, Eli could beat Kai to a paste (not that he would), but as heroes; Eli does not stand much of a chance against Kai at full power. Their dynamic is cool.**  
 **I actually added that line at the end as I was finishing up and proofreading. I love that line too! Kai is dangerous, it's easy to forget, but he is. Anyways! Enjoy!**

 **Nobel Six - Glad to always have you reviewing! Hope you enjoy this chapter. Action packed and picking up the pace. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 21**

* * *

I look over at my clock. It was glowing red in the dark night. Proclaiming it was only three something in the morning.

My phone was next to the clock, buzzing and making a racket.

I pick up my phone and see Kai's name and his smiling face greeting me.

"Great," I muttered.

I click the green answer button.

"Kai, do you know what time it is?" I ask him.

"Yeah, it's a little past three, I could not sleep." Kai's wide awake voice answers.

"Kai… I want to go to bed. Call someone else." I grumble.

"Well, I am blaming you for my inability to sleep, not my insomnia," Kai replies. "You are the one who introduced me to caffeine after all."

"Yeah, don't drink any more of that stuff." I close my eyes and just listen. "So, why are you calling me at three in the morning?"

"That's a good question." Kai's voice is distracted.

"So help me, you better have an answer to that." I snap at him quietly.

"It's ok, I have an answer, one moment please," I can hear him moving around and putting the phone down on something.

I can hear him making noise too.

"Ok, I'm back," Kai says easily.

"Where are you?" I ask.

"I'm in your dad's lab. He gave an access a long time ago so I didn't have to hack the lock." Kai answers.

"What are you doing in there?" I ask sleepily.

"Running tests." I can hear the nonchalant in Kai's voice. "So, it turns out that these clones are pretty vulnerable and slime-like on their chemical composition, not like a human, but seeing as I am half-human, I guess the cloning process had to be altered to make them stable."

"Haven't we established this?" I groan.

"Well, so I found a weakness in the one we hunted down last week. Nether. Do you know what that is?" Kai asks.

"No," I mutter. "Isn't it some type of theory or something?"

"To you, it might be, but it's not a theory. I think this is actually a source of Ryu's magic. Dragon Lords can get their magic from different sources." Kai explains. "Ryu, for example, can gain strength from the moon, fear, darkness, shadows, cold, and perhaps even Nether. Even though it is more of a chthonic element, so it would be more up a necromancer's power source than Ryu's… but…"

"English Kai," I cut him off. "And it's still three ante meridiem. You are in Latin II. You better tell me what you want."

"Do you have your computer?" Kai asks.

"I'm not getting out of bed," I tell him.

"Ok…" Kai pauses for a moment and I can hear machines working.

"So… basically. Here's how it works. Your father found what he thinks will be a solution to the clone problem, a biological weapon that appears to break down the chemical compositions of the clones. He failed to consider the clone's ability to learn and adapt." Kai explains.

"Thankfully for me, your father has his old chemistry and biology books in his lab with all his notes scribbled in the margins." Kai goes on. "I was able to make sense of them."

"Remind me to get your IQ tested." I cut in.

"Anna," Kai sighs. "Well, your dad was in the process of long term testing the results… and the clones can regenerate themselves after the biochemical weapon is used on them."

It takes me a minute.

"What!?" I scream into the phone.

"Well, you can imagine my reaction when one shows up in my room at midnight," Kai says absentmindedly.

"What?!" I scream again. "Kai!"

"Calm down. I took care of it. The Nether Manipulation. If I send enough of the chthonic element through their bodies, it basically kills everything in them and prevents them from coming back."

I'm out of bed already, getting dressed in costume. "I'm on my way."

"No worries," Kai says easily. "Orson should be arriving in your back yard any minute now to pick you up."

"You know I don't like flying." I groan.

"It'll only take you about five minutes to fly as opposed to you riding your bike." Kai answers.

"Ok, be there shortly," I tell him and hang up.

I grumble to myself as I finish pulling my pants on. "Kai…"

* * *

I run into Dad's lab to discover Kai was sitting on a stool near a computer and watching as it ran some program.

"My first question should be, are you ok? But I can't get over the fact that you can use a SHIELD computer without any issues. The amount of security on that one computer alone should be enough to stump Tony Stark, mostly because I was told he designed it while half drunk." I start calmly pulling off my mask.

Kai looks up. "I'm fine." He's got slight bags under his eyes and a bandage on his cheek.

I looked around the lab and see a smaller clone banging against a glass holding cage.

"Kai, why is there still one here?" I ask.

"Well, I wanted to show you something," Kai said turned to face the thing I was looking at.

"So the biochemical weapon will melt it down, but there is something more to this than just the slime-body," Kai says. "There's a microcomputer of sorts inside. That's the brain."

He looked at me. "I know I can do a lot of things. And I've already accessed on of their databases before, but it had started to delete information before I got to it. This one has seemed to have an issue deleting its information. So, this could be our the ticket in."

"Do you need me to help you?" I ask slowly.

Kai nods. "If you would, please."

I sigh. "Kai, we're going to be in so much trouble over this. At least I will, what would your parents think about this?"

"Well, I'd be in a lot of trouble." Kai shrugs. "I'm not supposed to be on this mission, so… I don't know. But my dad would deal out a harsh punishment. Hope and her now fiancé, Jun, got in a lot of trouble and her punishment lasted 4 months."

"Four months?" I ask him.

Kai nods. "Anyway, I need you to use the bioweapon your dad made. I don't trust myself to do it. And I have to do the rest."

"Fine." I sigh. "if we get caught. I'm running and leaving you behind." I warn him.

Kai was dress in sweats and a tank top, as much mobility as that gives him, with his prosthetic, I'll be able to out run him. Easily.

"Deal." Kai smiles. "But, might I interest you in my ability to become completely invisible, to even the inferred SHIELD gear?"

I sigh. "Let's just hope nothing goes wrong," I say moving over to the computer.

I open it up and look at the lock screen.

Password?

Great…

"Kai, how good is your hacking?" I ask him.

Kai walks over and places his hand on the system unit. He closes his eyes and bows his head. Calmly waiting.

I look at the screen as the bar for the password slowly starts to fill with a long line of dots.

The enter button highlighted and then the circle appears to show it was thinking.

I look over to Kai who was watching the screen now. "Not bad."

"Thanks," Kai says almost distantly.

"Hey… Kai…" I start slowly. "Are you feeling ok?"

"Yeah, I feel fine." He nods his head.

"Are you sure about that?" I ask him gently. "You can talk to me if you need to."

"There's nothing I want to talk about," Kai says with the same calm tone.

"Nothing?" I repeat.

"Nothing," Kai assures me calmly. "Can you get the weapons ready to test? I want to try to separate this clone from its computer. If we can, we could get a lot of information."

I pull up the program and ready it as Kai uses his telepathy to create semitransparent shields between us and the cage.

"When you're ready!" Kai says easily.

I sigh and hold my figure over the enter button. "Now," I say as I press it gently.

I watch the weapon do its job. A raw beam of the power of some sorts. Kai could likely tell me what it was.

It was quick, when it's over the shields drop and the microcomputer Kai told me able floated out of the clone goop.

However, the clone was not happy about this. It was trying to get it back.

Kai was up against the glass hand above his head holding the small piece of technology out of reach of the goop which was slowly melting. The same purple aura was around it.

The melting was slow and I walked over to watched Kai finish the job.

Once he finished he dropped to his knees and the computer fell.

Kai caught it with his telepathy right as it was about to shatter and placed it down gently.

I rushed over to the computer and turned everything off. I typed in the code to open the door. Which popped a little like a car trunk, waiting to be fully opened.

Kai looked at me with alarm. "Anna."

The room flashed red.

Great. I had set off the alarm.

The next moment there was blaring sound.

We're so dead when they find us.

Kai clapped his hands over his ears the sound obviously was causing him pain.

Please don't have a panic attack. Please don't have a panic attack!

"Kai!" I rush over to him and help him sit up. I place my hands over his. "Look at me!"

His green eyes meet mine and the flashing lights freeze I'm waiting for the next alarm to scream again.

I move my hands from his and Kai puts his hands down too. He looks at the light and does not seem shocked that it was frozen.

I stand up and pull him to his feet. "Did you stop time?" I ask.

"Yeah," Kai mutters. "I think I did."

I hold his arms to steady him. "Let's get out of here," I suggest quickly.

Then the thought crosses my mind. "You've got to get me home! Before you start time again! You have to get me home! My parents will kill me. My dad's already gotten the alert on his phone by now! He'll check on me before he leaves."

Kai nods. I pick up the computer. "Who holds onto this?" I ask.

"Will you?" Kai asks me.

I nod. "I have that secret room in my closet that's my work lab. That will be a safe place to hide it. I hardly go in there anymore."

Kai nods. "That will work."

* * *

I walk out of my bathroom to see Kai sitting on my bed. "I thought you were going to leave already?" I ask him.

"No, I was going to put you into a deep sleep, so you don't have to fake it," Kai admits. "I don't want you in trouble."

I smile. "Just make sure you lock the front door on your way out."

"I will." Kai nods. He looks at my rug and seems to be lost in thought.

"Something wrong?" I ask him.

"No, I'm fine," Kai mutters. "Are you ready for bed?"

I nod my head. "Yeah."

I move the blankets and climb in as Kai gets up and walks around the head of my bed.

I make myself comfortable and look up at him. this feels so awkward to have someone looking down at me as I'm laying down… I wonder if Kai is used to it...

"Alright," Kai says calmly. "Look into my eyes. And…" he holds out a hand between us. His fingers twitched some. "And now…" one figure at a time slowly came down, starting with his pinky figure.

"Sleep." Kai orders and his thumb comes in and-

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and Ideas.**

 **A/N: Alright it took a while to get this up and going, but I also finished the next chapter after this one too. And I got the ball rolling. I think I am going to get this finished up fairly soon actually. The climax is nearly upon us and I have some good ideas about how to finish this up. I'll keep this short! Read, Review, Enjoy!**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218- Kai and Eli are that way. And he's not leaving the scene for long, although he will have some good stuff to come.  
Anna does know him fairly well and as shown in the upcoming chapters she knows he's not fine when he says he is. But in the end, they are on the same side. So some stuff is coming up and we get to revisit a lot of things that haven't been mentioned much in a while.  
And oh yes… Kai's sense of danger… he's going to have to work on that…  
Stopping time is becoming one of the more prominent things Kai can do, although I have to limit it, and it does take a toll on him and he can't stop time in a rush.  
Alright, let the mission continue on. Let Anna and Kai keep going. Let's get onto this! Enjoy the chapter!**

 **Nobel Six- Sorry this took so long! Enjoy the newest chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 22**

* * *

"Hope!" I call as I run down the hallway to meet her. "Hope! Gotta talk to you!"

Hope looks up at me and sighs. Sabrina was with her.

I catch up to them and Hope starts walking again. "What Anna?"

She sounds tired and a little frustrated. I wonder if she knows what Kai's been up to lately. "It's Kai."

"Oh boy," Sabrina groans. "What now?"

"Well, nothing. I was just wondering about him and," I look around, "his PTSD." I whisper.

"Anna, that's none of your businesses. I don't care what you do to help him, but if you want details, I'm not giving them to you." Hope says sternly. "Kai's not your responsibility, and you are not his mother."

I groan as we approach the cafeteria. "I know, I know, It's just we were hanging out the other night and I asked if he was ok and he just kept saying this numb; 'I'm fine.'"

"When were you hanging out?" Hope asks.

Great… "Uh, two or three days ago," I guess

"When; Monday or Tuesday?" Hope asks.

"Monday," I decide. That's long enough ago she might believe it.

"What time?" Hope asks.

"Uh… I don't know. It was after school." I shrug.

"Before or after dinner?" Hope presses.

"Before," I decide quickly.

"Liar." Hope calls my bluff easily.

"What?" I ask.

Sabrina laughs to herself. "Wow, Anna."

"Mondays before dinner, Kai goes to see the psychologist," Hope says calmly.

"Oh," I mutter.

"So, when were you two talking?" Hope asked.

"Uh, the other day?" I ask.

"The other day; at three o'clock in the morning when the alarms went off in your father's lab?" Hope guessed easily.

"What? I ask. Did Kai tell her or something? "I know nothing about that."

"And now I call your bluff for being an awful liar, you are producing normal signs that a person will do when they are lying," Hope says popping open a thermos. "Tell me I'm wrong. I dare you."

"What do you know about the lab?" I ask.

"When SHIELD agents got there, it looks like nothing had happened. Everything was in its place and the only thing that looks tampered with was the container that held the cloned sample, it was empty." Hope explained with a sly expression. "Now, you are going to tell me exactly what you and Kai were doing in there, or I'm going to call Coulson and report to him that I know who it was."

"Haven't they already checked the security cameras?" Sabrina asked slowly. "I mean, they do that first, right?"

"They were tampered with. The film skips from midnight to when the SHIELD Agents stormed in. There was a total of about four hours of film missing." Hope said pulling out her phone. "You had better start talking."

"I don't know, Kai called me about three and I don't even remember our conversation," I tell her. "I don't know what you are talking about ok! Ask Kai!"

* * *

I walk into the library silently. It's not hard to find Kai, sitting at a table with another kid; working on something with some open books around him.

The kid has got this blood red hair I instantly recognize. Kai's with Eli.

I shake my head as I approach. Eli has no idea that the boy in a wheelchair next to him as kicked his butt numerous times over in training.

But that leads me to the questions… what are they even doing together? They're on opposite ends of the social spectrum. Eli is this cool thought guys and Kai's… He's Kai. He's smart, weak looking, and wants to be invisible.

"Hey, Kai," I say walking up to him and plopping myself into a seat next to them. "What are you guys up to?"

Kai looks up. "I'm tutoring." He raises an eyebrow. "Do you need something?"

"Um… yeah…" I smile at him a little.

 _'But you don't want to blow your cover?'_ Kai's voice echoes in my skull.

 _'Basically,'_ I agree.

"So, are you two going to sit there and stare into each other's eyes or are you going to tell me if I got this question right?" Eli deadpans as he waits on Kai to check his work.

I look over the textbook and notice this is for Latin.

"Right, sorry about that," Kai mumbles as he picks up the notebook and reads it over.

His mouth moves as he looked over each syllable and picks up his own pencil. "You misspelled a lot of words." He sighs as he makes corrections on the paper. "Didn't I tell you to just learn them a few groups at a time?"

"It's not like I will ever have to use this stuff again." Eli groans leaning back in his chair.

Kai sighs. I can tell he wants to say something, but he keeps it to himself.

"Look, Eli, you want to keep your GPA up, so you can go to college one day."

Eli groans. "Not listening."

Kai sighs and pulls out his phone from his pocket.

 _'You should kick his butt.'_ I suggest.

Kai only laughs to himself quietly. _'What good comes from violence?'_

Kai looks at his phone for a moment before showing me a long text from Hope.

"What did you do?" He asks calmly.

"That's a long story." I sigh. "And here's really not the place."

"Are you two dating?" Eli asks us with a raised eyebrow.

"No!" I jump in quickly. "We are not dating!" I can feel my face getting red.

I look over at Kai who is also red and looks a little offended.

"We're family friends." I smile. "Our parents went to high School together. So, we've been friends for years now."

"Hm…" Eli shrugs.

Kai looks down at his phone and goes over the text message as I look to the open textbook.

"So… Latin One?" I ask. "Cool."

"It's stupid. Just typical high school for you," Eli sighs, "language requirements for graduation, which I have to do."

"Well, you have a great tutor." Maybe a little flattery can buy me out of Kai's wrath about spilling the beans to his sister. Which Coulson must know about by now…

 _'Anna, don't even think about it.'_ Kai's voice echoes.

"Really? Kai's hard to work with, no offense or anything. But honestly, it's like his brain is on a whole other level that we don't understand." Eli grumbled.

 _'Got that right,'_ I think to myself clearly, I know Kai can hear me.

Eli sighs. "Well, Kai, if you would help me out here…"

Kai looks up from his phone and lays it down. "Right, you simply need to reverse these two words in the sentence here…" Kai points to the paper. "For the grammatical correctness, and then you need to split up your vocabulary words and learn them in small groups like I already told you."

Eli sighs. "Is that how you did it?"

"Yes, it's the fastest and most effective way to learn things in a short amount of time," Kai nods his head. "Of course you need to remember to keep compiling and reviewing words you already learned. And seeing your study habits, I might suggest you keep repeating this process to ensure you will know all these words when it comes time for the exam."

"What's you make on your Latin I final exam?" Eli asks.

"One hundred," Kai smiles.

Eli groans. "I've got the biggest nerd in school breathing down my back about Latin, I mean come on the language is dead."

Kai sighs also and reaches from his water bottle and takes a drink. "I'm trying to help you. I've already got your Math and English grades to go up."

"Yeah, because all you do is sit around and study all day, you're not athletic or anything." Eli rolls his eyes. "Some of have lives outside of school."

Kai's expression is irritated and dead. His eyes are narrowed ad his face says one thing; _'You have no clue.'_

I shake my head. "Kai's a lot more than meets the eyes, Eli. You just have to get to know him."

Eli looks down at his watch. "Three… Two… One…"

He holds a finger in the air and the bell ring to let us know to get to our next class.

Eli is gone is a matter of seconds leaving Kai and I alone.

"Well, I have to go to AP Bio," I shrug standing up. "I guess I'll be seeing you."

I start to walk away and my whole body freezes, I can't move.

I can hear Kai moving around behind me. "You know…" He begins. "I have some questions for you."

Oh no…

"What?" I feel my voice is small. I can hardly talk while Kai is in control of my muscles.

"How did Hope find out?" Kai's grip on me allows me to turn around to face him, but I can still feel him holding my ankles to the ground as he sat in his wheelchair a few feet away from me.

"Uh… I was talking to her about you and I mentioned we were hanging out the other night. She asked when and I made something up, which was wrong because apparently at the time I had made up and lied about you were at therapy. From there it went downhill and she was asking about us messing around in dad's lab and the four hours of missing security footage." My explanation is a rushed mess.

Kai only watches me. "Why were you talking about me?"

"You're pretty interesting to talk about," I try to fake a smile.

"Did Hope tell you that you are an awful liar?" Kai asks casually.

"Yeah…" I nod.

"Well, I may not appear to have my sister's training. I have plenty of knowledge. I can read you like a book, Anna, you were asking about my mental health?" Kai prompts.

I close my eyes and my mind races with all the worry about Kai that I've been feeling since he was paralyzed only a few months after coming here.

Kai lets out a very deep breath. "Anna, don't worry about me. I'm fine." His grip on my arms fades away.

"Lair," I mutter. I open my eyes and look at Kai.

"What?" Kai asks he's confused.

"You want to call me a liar, and then I'll call you one too," I snap at him. "You are not ok and I know it. I know you!"

Kai looks at me in the way men can do, unphased by what I am saying and all the emotion behind my argument. He's not getting worked up and I know that I cannot get him worked up about this, his calm charade is too powerful and too perfectly crafted. He has too many years of practice for me to get to him and under his skin. No matter what.

"Anna, we can't do this if we are not on the same page," Kai begins. "I'll do this by myself if you don't want to work with me. If you want out because you can't see past your protective instincts. That is fine."

I swear I am going to slap him and he knows it. He can see I'll at my wits ends and ready to explode, he can feel the aura of the White Tiger on me.

I feel like time is slowing down around us, I can't focus on any one thing. Everything around me is too distracting.

I steal a glance at a clock. It's not moving. The tardy bell should have already rang. I should be late to class.

"You stopped time," I growl.

"Anna, the Tiger, I can feel it, you are in an emotional state of mind. You are not in control, and this is a problem." Kai states calmly.

"To who?" I growl again.

"Anna, that amulet that is around your waist is deadly powerful. I don't want you to hurt anyone," Kai states.

I stare at him. My blood is at it's a boiling point.

I lunge at him. I'm going to teach him. I'm going to put him in his place. Shrink down his inflated ego thinking he can do all of this on his own.

My body slams into the ground and I feel my own body heat stolen from me.

I open my eyes and look at the wheel in front of my face.

"Kai?"

"Anna, you should not wear this at school." Kai's voice is calm. "It's dangerous."

I look up to see the amulet floating in his hands.

I make a face. Show off.

I get back up to my feet and I feel the world start up again around me.

Kai doesn't touch the amulet. It's as if he is fearful of it…

He floats it over to my and I take it in my hand.

"Anna Grace Parker. Kaito Nastu Rand."

Oh no…

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and Ideas.**

 **A/N: Ok picking up the pace and picking up some drama. We're going to break some rules and split up the team. It's kind of splitting into two sides about who needs to be involved and how much. And it's going to be good. So this is chapter 23 and I think this story might make it to around 30 like my other ones… we will see where it goes. No plan to stop too soon, although I would like to wrap it up, this book has been a long time in the making. Anyway! A brand new chapter to read and enjoy!**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218 - She tried she tried. Not exactly much you can do when you are lying to a trained expert such as Hope, or a telepath like Kai.  
I think I will go back and address their relationship again at one point soon. I'll likely use Sabrina to kind of talk to Anna as little plot thing because Anna is starting to notice she might be having different feelings about Kai and this whole situation. You are right though, they are drifting their own ways.  
Kai tutoring Eli, ok I really love this. Because as said a thousand times over, they are nothing alike, their only similarity is their affiliation with SHIELD.  
Oh, they may not be able to hide it forever but they sure are going to try. And it's only going to make it that much worse when it comes out. And punishments will be dished out, starting with a small sample this chapter.  
They are in trouble… just wait… that someone calling them is… Anyway, Enjoy!**

 **Nobel Six - Thanks for the continued support and get ready for some more! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 23**

* * *

"So, what were you doing in your father's lab the other night?" Mom drilled. She was standing behind Coulson's desk looking completely ticked off about having to come to the school in the middle of the work day.

"Uh, nothing…" I mutter. "Kai called me."

 _'Blaming me.'_ Kai's voice says in my head. _'Thanks, Anna.'_

"I went in there to see what had happened. The bio-weapon that Mr. Parker created was not effective against the clones. The one that he thought he destroyed was back in my room either hunting me or looking for a way out." Kai states simply.

"Then why were you not there when the guards showed up?" Coulson asks.

"I had gone back to bed," Kai replies expertly. "I felt there was no need to wake everyone in SHIELD up over this. I thought it could wait until morning."

"Did you report it?" Coulson asks. I know that he knows the answer to this.

"No, it simply slipped my mind. You can imagine the stress I am under." Kai lies again.

If they knew he was going out and looking for trouble he would be dead.

 _'Lair.'_ I focus on the thought to make sure Kai can hear me.

"Anna, I'm taking the amulet back, you can forget it," Mom says holding out her hand.

I sigh and hand it over without a fight. This is her way of keeping me out of it. With the loss of the amulet, I don't have anything super human about me expect a few genetic mutations from dad. But it's not nearly enough for me to go out as a hero, especially when I am used to having the whole amulet to use.

"Well, Kai… I know you are very invested in this. As they are clones of you, with abilities just like you. I know you have a lot going on with this case." Coulson says calmly. "What's it going to take to get you to let the adults handle it?"

"I'm not dropping this," Kai replies stubbornly. "You can send me back to K'un-Lun if you want to. Just know that I will not give this up. And I will not stay put."

"What would your parents think about this?" Coulson asks.

I look over at Kai, he's being so defiant… I swear… I don't think I've ever seen this in him. He's been such a goodie and rule-follower for the past year or so. Where's this attitude stemming from?

Kai's face changes. It shows that Coulson has him right where he wants him. The guilt trip.

"They'd be the first ones to stop me from going out and doing this. I'm the youngest, the baby in the family. They might be used to this kind of thing from my sister, but with everything going on around me; my changes in powers, my faltering health… I know for certain my mother is not ready to let me completely free into the world." Kai admits.

"What if they were here? What would they be telling you?" Coulson pushes on.

"They'd have the same position on this that you do right now," Kai admits.

"Kai," Mom speaks up. "You can't blame your mother for wanting to keep you safe." We both look over to her as she speaks. "She's nearly lost you twice now. I'm honestly surprised that she let you come back for this school year. If this were Anna I would not let her go back."

Kai looks at his lap. "I'll cut back on the heroism that I am doing. I'll cut back on everything I am doing. I'll go back to doing behind the scenes. I don't need to be out on the frontline."

"Are you really going to do that?" Mom asks.

"I swear upon the undying's last breath; I will cut back," Kai says looking at both adults. "That's the most serious swear I can make you."

They seem pleased. I'm not sure what is going on, but I think the adults are winning here. Mom has the amulet. And Kai's been taken down a few pegs mentally.

This is no way the end of it all.

* * *

"So, you're really going to retire?" Mimic asks.

"Yeah, I've talked to Coulson about it. And my dad too. I need to step down for my own good. I'm not cut out for this like the rest of you are." Omni smiles. His bandana was around his neck.

"Wow…" Power-Man mutters. "Come on man, you're like the most powerful one here!"

"That power comes at a price. And it's dangerous. I need to step back and just focus on expanding my powers without putting myself in harm's way to do it." Omni sighs. "Trust me, I'm not happy about it. And it's going to be an adjustment… but this is what I need to do."

"Well, does this mean you'll tell me who you are now?" War Shot asks with a smirk in his tone.

"No," Omni says seriously. "If I tell you who I am that is a SHIELD compromise in security. I'd be putting the rest of the team at risk."

War Shot just sighs.

"He's just happy you're not going to be kicking his butt into oblivion anymore," Sabrina jokes as she walks over.

"That's not it!" War Shot defends himself.

"Totally is," Sabrina sighs passing off a file to Omni. "This is your first assignment."

"Cool." Jewel looks over his shoulder. "What is it?"

Omni scans the file and frowns he closes it and looks up at Sabrina with an annoyed and bitter expression. "Tell Agent Coulson he can forget it."

"What is it?" Mimic asked.

"About the clone project; that I am not long affiliated with," Omni says bitterly. "Tell him to get his own agents to decode it."

Sabrina sighs. "You're going to take some time to get used to the downgrade. Sorry about that. But Coulson knows you already have decrypted these types of files that no one else could. So he wants you leading the decoding team on this."

"Time to train," Spirit says walking over. "Pair up for sparring."

Everyone collectively groans at her.

"Oh right, about that. I'm grounded and my mom has the amulet and there is no chance that I am getting it back until I'm forty." I pipe up. "So I guess that excludes me…"

"Not a chance," Spirit smiles. "You can spar with me. It's important to be able to fight even when handicapped in terms of power."

"Come on Omni," Sabrina grabs his wrist and starts to pull him towards the exit. "Lots of fun desk work to do."

Omni just sighs.

"You've got a different assignment already?" Spirit looks down at him.

"Does not mean I am happy about it," Kai replies sharply.

I'm a little surprised that they aren't speaking Chinese.

But then again, everything regarding Kai has been off since Coulson drug us to the office this morning. Maybe even before that in the library, stuff's been off with Kai so much recently. I've seen him lie so skillfully.

It's almost like we're divided. We need to stand together as a team on this and wrap up the clone situation and then just move on. If Kai's up and retiring and finished. Then he's done and he'll be going his own way. The team is still going to be together. He'll just go back to hanging around off to the side. He'll get a chance to work his brain.

Maybe that's for his own good...

* * *

I pound heavily on Kai's door. "Open up, lair!"

The door swings out and I look inside to see Kai sitting on the couch wrapped in a blanket and watching the news.

I storm in. "I'm about to slap some sense into you, so hard that when you wake up I'll be out of college!"

Kai only looks up. _'You knew too easily. I wonder if they know too. And also, I'm not trusting SHIELD at the moment.'_ He taps his forehead.

 _'I know you are not letting this go, you are not letting someone else take over.'_ I inform him. _'Undying swear or whatever.'_

 _'Hope has the same theory you do.'_ Kai lets out a breath and gets much more comfortable. _'The necklace my mom gave me that lets me transform between Omni and Kai now has a spell on it. When I change, she knows.'_

 _'What's the plan?'_ I ask

 _'There is no plan.'_ Kai answers. _'I'm going to do my job like I was asked to do.'_

 _'Like I believe you,'_ I reply plopping down on the couch, _'what about that device that's in my room? The one that was the clone brain?'_

 _'I'm going to use it to locate their makeshift base, tell everyone I discovered it in the decoding I did and then destroy the evidence.'_ Kai answers.

 _'I know you're lying to me. Are you, planning to go after them?'_

 _'Yeah, good luck stopping me.'_ Kai replies.

 _'No, it's good luck stopping me,'_ I smirk. _'Either I come with or you forget it all together. We're on the same side.'_

Kai smiles. _'Good to know at least one person is going to back me up.'_

 _'Your parents are going to flip, aren't they? I mean they're super chill and all, but not even they can be this calm about everything.'_ I laugh to myself.

 _'Yeah.'_

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and Ideas.**

 **A/N: Ok, so it's getting a little dark now. Kai and Anna are going to find themselves in some trouble soon, maybe the next chapter. Oh, I'm so excited. I'm going to write the next chapter tomorrow! So exciting! I've got ideas for days! I just finished this chapter up, and I think I might have been a little confusing around Kai. Hopefully, this chapter clears up what's going on with him. He's getting better. He's thinking clearer than he has in a long time. Well, Anna explains it. Anyway, this is kind of a little bit of a filler to get to the main climax, but I think there is some important stuff in here as far as Kai and Anna's friendship. Anyway, I'm going to just wrap this up here and post. Enjoy everyone!**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218 - Yeah, I think Sabrina will make an appearance again soon. She did name drop their ship name so I do think she's a little invested in their "relationship" or whatever they have at this point.**  
 **Their troubles are only beginning, you'll understand... but it's only starting.**  
 **Defiant Kai and Kingly Danny... hm... I can imagine them having the exact same expressions as each other. Like this satisfied smirk... but yeah, Danny (coming up in Lights) does start to pull his strings and whatnot, kind of being stubborn, kind of like Kai. The two of them have a lot in common. I can see Aiko seeing that as a bad thing and being a little frustrated.**  
 **Yeah, Danny and Aiko are likely going to be ticked when they find out. And they do a mean job guilt tripping.**  
 **Oh, Spirit. She's the natural example of the King's child. So strong and in a leadership position, she is at home there. I like how you put that. Very funny. All I have to say is, she has been, and the devil wasn't exactly found of her (Next Gen: Hope when she went to the 8th city of heaven). Hm... small idea... let's hang on to this thought.**  
 **They are an argumentative couple... you are right... well, we get a small change of pace in this chapter. A nice little change. Their one last run is almost here, get ready!**

 **Nobel Six - Glad you are enjoying it! Thanks for all your support! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 24**

* * *

I look down at Kai's prosthetic and step back. "There, good as it can be. What do you think?"

Kai just nods. "Sorry about messing it up."

"It's just wear and tear," I sigh as I lean back in the chair in my dad's office.

Kai slides off the counter and takes a few steps for practice. "You know, I'm very thankful you taught me how to walk again, and gave me the means to do so."

"Yeah, well stop breaking it," I reply.

Kai looks over to my dad who had headphones on and was busy looking at his computer.

' _Tonight_ ,' Kai's voice was in my skull. ' _We make our move tonight_.'

' _Ok, sure._ ' I agree.

Kai walks over to the glass cell that held his clone. He studies it for a moment. "These things really are annoying."

"You're telling me." I sigh. "I hate them so much."

"Kai, Anna, get away from that," Dad says without turning around or removing the headphones.

Kai sighs. "I'm never going to get treated like an adult… am I?"

"You are thirteen, you can cool it a little bit, Mr. Mature." I shoot at him, grabbing his arm and pulling him away. "Anything interesting as far, you know with your decoding assignment?"

"Just a bunch of nothing," Kai sighs. "I really hate it."

"Why?"

"Imagine you are a young twenty-something SHIELD recruit and super bright and excited about your work and then Coulson gives you a thirteen-year-old as your leader in a huge project." Kai narrates. "They're all amazed at how easily I can read the codes and figure them out, as well as a little bitter because I'm 'inexperienced' and 'hard to work with'."

"Sorry." I shrug.

Kai takes a deep breath and lets it out. "Your world is a strange place."

"Yeah, isn't it?" I laugh. "I mean, we're kids. We're just kids. We aren't supposed to be heroes. Whatever happened to our innocence and childhood?"

"I don't know." Kai sighs. "I honestly don't know."

We sit in silence for a while and I just watch Kai. He was leaning on a counter staring off into space.

I haven't had the time to really think about him lately. What's with my emotions? Do I still like him or what?

I don't know…

Great! I jump and look at Kai. I shouldn't think about this around the telepath. He could be listening and I would never know!

I look away and make a face.

I don't know… Kai's just changed so much. He's different now… and I don't know what to think. Do I love him?

I don't know… it could be gone now… or different. Kai's so different from when I first meet him… he's so… I don't know…

* * *

"Anna, let's go." A voice says as someone shakes me. "Get up."

I look up at Kai and sigh heavily. "What about the amulet?" I ask.

Kai grins at me and the amulet floats out from behind his back. "I got it for you. I'm not going to actually touch it though, seems like a bad idea waiting to happen. An amulet of power in my hands…"

"Smart thinking," I agree as I rush into the bathroom and come out dressed as White Tiger.

"Are you going to stop time for our escape?" I ask.

"Too much of a strain, I need to reserve as much energy and power as possible. If this is it, which I really hope it is, then, we are going to need full power." Kai explains.

"Are you going to costume change?" I ask.

"I can't. Hope has a spell on the necklace that I use when I change, she is alerted to my location right away. If things get desperate I'll change so that she'll come. That's my backup plan. But I checked on her, she's in deep sleep right now. She has no idea that I am I here. Or what we are doing."

"Good." I nod. "Let's get moving."

Kai nods and we slip out the door and I lock it behind me and put the key under the doormat. Once on the street, I see Orson just sitting there on the curb like a car.

"Really? What if someone sees him?" I ask.

"No one can see him except up. I'm using minimal powers right now." Kai explains. "Plus, it's a long ride to get to where we're going."

I sigh and give a nod. "Let's get moving. And get home before anyone finds out."

"Do you know there is a sixty percent chance we're going to get caught?" He asks.

"I figured there was a high chance," I sigh. "We'll just be careful."

Kai just takes a deep breath and pulls me onto Orson's back. "Let's go."

* * *

I just closed my eyes as we traveled. I held on tight to Kai and listened to his controlled heartbeat.

I love Kai, but I feel like it's different now than before. I think he's just now my closest friend and confident. But, he's not my boyfriend. He never was. We were never really a thing. Wasn't it just my imagination?

I got a lot of time to think. Kai means a lot to me. And… it hurts. Kai's not my price charming. He's so… he's complicated. I just want him to be healed. I want him to be a normal high school SHIELD hero in training. But he's not. He's the most powerful person to regularly be in SHIELD HQ. He's a prince. He's Kaito Nastu Rand-K'ai.

He's so much more than he used to be. He's so much more than I could ever be.

I'm not giving up… but I accept it. Our paths are going in different directions. I don't need to be here. This may be normal to Kai. All this crazy, maybe to the Prince of K'un-Lun, The Mystical Heart of the World, this is normal. Maybe he's used to thing I don't understand.

But I'm just Anna-Grace Parker. My mom and dad are both superheroes. They both work for SHIELD. I've been going to public schools all my life. I've been raised in New York, where normal is a super villain attack every other day.

"Anna, is something wrong?" Kai asks as Orson starts to land.

"Just thinking," I reply dully.

"Well, don't worry, I'll make it quick. In and out," Kai assures me as we land. I had my arms around his stomach and clung as Orson hits the ground, not exactly the easiest landing ever.

"You make it sound like we're grocery shopping," I argue. "We don't know what we're walking into."

Kai looks at me, he's so serious. "Does it matter?" He asks voice ice cold.

"Yes, it does. This is dangerous." I snap at him.

"You don't have to come." Kai decides calmly. He turns his back to me and starts to walk toward the abandoned warehouse.

My guts don't feel good about this; I have an overall bad feeling about everything. Kai's walking into danger.

I'm here. I'm a part of this now if I like it or not. I'll never forgive myself if Kai gets hurt and I was here standing outside.

But we don't need to be here. This isn't like Kai at all.

Something is wrong. And it's making me sick to my stomach.

Orson looks at me with these wise eyes. 'What are you going to do?'

I look at him. "I don't know."

His eyes narrow and he snorts lying down on the concrete.

"I'm going," I whisper.

This is going to end so badly.

I rush after Kai who was standing next to the large warehouse doors. He had not opened them yet, he just stood there and inspected them.

"Hey, I'm coming with you," I call after him.

Kai looks at me. "Good, I'm glad to have the help."

"First you have to promise me something." I request.

"What would you like?" Kai asks.

"After this is over go back to normal," I say sternly.

"Trust me; I was planning on it already. I'm officially retiring after this is over. I just can't step out while everything is still going on." Kai explains. "I'm too stubborn to leave this alone and my parents have to agree. If it were either of them in my place they would to some extent be doing the same thing. It's just in my blood. If I get to do one thing for myself in life, I want to do this."

"So, you promise to step down and leave this to the professionals?" I clarify. "Are you honestly going to do that?"

Kai's hand rests on the door. "I don't think I can take much more hero work. I know the main reason I wanted to come back after going home this summer was to train to be a hero, but maybe… maybe Davos was right."

"Davos…" I mutter. "That's…"

"My uncle; he reluctantly trained me this summer. He didn't want to, told me I wasn't cut out for this kind of work." Kai sighs. "He's right."

"Don't get down on yourself." I place a hand on his shoulder. "You're going to be fine. You have really high expectations and standards for yourself. I get it, you're always under pressure."

It makes sense now.

"What?" Kai asks.

He pulls away from the door. "What do you mean?"

"You want to be just like your parents, don't you?" I ask. "You're dad's the Iron Fist, which means a lot to your people. You're going to be his successor. You want to live up to that don't you?"

Kai just nods his head slowly.

"See? I get it." I pull up my mask to smile at him. "Look, if you want to walk away from this now and let the adults handle it, I'm good with that. If you want to go in there guns blazing, I'm good with that too."

Kai looks down at his legs.

"I trust whatever you choose; you know what you are doing." I smile at him.

Kai's arms wrap around me and he pulls me into him, he's so warm and comfortable. I wrap my arms around his neck and also hold him.

We stand there for a minute before I whisper to him.

"I trust you. I know you; you're going to do so much. Maybe it just takes an outside view to know that; to tell you that. Don't beat yourself up."

"Thanks, Anna." He sighs. "Thank you."

He pulls back and looks at the door.

"Are you ok?" I ask.

"I'm done messing around," Kai smiles at me.

He smiles at me all the time. But this was so much… better. This is the Kai that I meet so long ago, the easy-going prince who isn't trying to take on the world. He's relaxed.

He's himself…

I pull my mask back down. The heartwarming moment is gone. Back to the real world.

I know what Kai is going to decide. He's going through with this. We're going in there.

Kai looks at the door and holds his hands out. He pulls them into his chest and then freezes.

My hand goes to my watch. I tap it and ready the communicator. If something goes wrong I'm calling for help right away.

I trust Kai, this has nothing to do with if I trust him or not. I know he'll take care of both of us. But, if we get in over our heads… I want to easily call for help.

"Ready?" Kai asks.

"Yes, let's get this over with." I agree.

Kai plants himself in the ground and the lock crumbles.

He takes on last breath and thrusts his arms out, shoving the doors off their hinges.

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and ideas.**

 **A/N: Aw, this feels like the final stretch. I'm pretty happy with the ending, a little mystery. Anyone think they know what happens at the end? Feel free to guess. With ComicCon over... Wow... What a good week for Defenders fans, and Iron Fist fans... Iron Fist confirmed for season 2! Anyway, time to get this updates. Enjoy!**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218- Oh boy, you are going to love the surprise at the ending and into the next chapter. You are going to love it! I like what you said about people's egos and working under Kai. People are like that... so true. I think that's what I'm going to do next. Some Kai being young... sounds like something I should write in the next chapters. Well with so much action coming up, it's time to get going... Enjoy this chapter!**

 **Nobel Six- Thanks as always! I hope this next chapter exceeds expectations. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 25**

* * *

I guess; I expected something to come flying out at me.

Nothing came out.

Kai sighed and motioned me to follow him.

Slowly the pair of us walked into the warehouse.

It was dark, crates were everywhere.

I'm not sure what I expected, but I thought the place would be trashed.

I hurried to catch up to Kai. "I'm not getting any readings of life."

"Well, they're not really alive," Kai muttered back. "They would not give off heat."

I sigh. "You find anything?" I ask.

"Not really," Kai muttered. "But I know we're surrounded."

"We're what?" I ask.

Kai walked up to a crate. "This has about a hundred of them in there, all dormant."

"Each crate has a hundred, times the couple hundred crates…" I mutter.

"I have a feeling they're planning to fan out to where we can't reach them all," Kai mutters.

I walk ahead and look at all the destinations painted on the sides.

"Washington D.C., Hong Kong, Tokyo, Mexico City, Delhi, Los Angeles, Paris, Istanbul, Beijing, London, Madrid, Toronto," I read off the places slowly as I walk around.

Kai walks over. "What do all these places have in common?"

"Besides Washington D.C. these are some of the biggest cities in the world. We're talking millions of people," I explain. "We should just burn this place to the ground."

"No, we have to find whatever is producing them and cut it off first. What good is it if we destroy all of these, but in a few months there are more than we started with?" Kai asks. "Plus they only have one weakness; The Chthonian Element; Nether."

"Right, so we take out the machine and you set this place ablaze," I state the plan.

"Deal," Kai agrees.

"Any idea where this thing we're looking for is?" I ask.

Kai looks around and then his gaze locks on a locked door.

"There," Kai mutters. "Let's go."

"Right," I mutter following him.

Kai stands at the door for a moment before he looks straight down as if he can see right through the floor.

The floor slowly starts to twist and open up into a black hole.

The whole eventually shows there is a light on the other side of the wall.

Kai picks me up with his telepathy and we both float down through the hole.

"Woah…" I mutter softly. "That's a big machine."

Kai looks around, "Yeah, this is the only one. Octavius only had time to set one up before he got arrested."

"You know this for a fact?" I ask.

"Yes, I do."

I nod my head silently. "Let's get this over with."

"We should cut the power supply before we do anything else." Kai reasons as he starts to float off the ground and moves closer to the machine, "stay put."

"Sure," I reply.

Kai disappears. He becomes invisible.

I watch the machine. Nothing happens for a minute…

Then sparks fly as the machine wires are cut and then wires are fried.

 _"Safety Protocol Initiated."_

Oh no…

 _"Scanning for Life Signs. Two Intruders Found."_

We're in trouble…

"Run!" Kai appears, right behind me, he grabs my hand and starts to drag me along.

"What?"

"They're waking up." He says in an out of breath rush.

"How many?"

"All of them," Kai says, I swear I can hear his heart pounding from here.

"What's the plan?"

"Get a good position, stand our ground, and fight," Kai explains.

"Right, what about me?" I ask. "What about the whole Nether weakness?"

"I'll take care of it. I'll infuse your gloves." Kai promises.

"Ok," I agree.

"Hang on," Kai mutters as he grabs my hand and we start to fly. Nothing below us, just telepathy flying…

The hole in the ground reopens and we float through.

Clones stand there… surrounding us.

"We're dead…" I mutter.

Kai's hands are on both of mine. "Go!" He shouts.

"What?" I ask.

"Fight," Kai shouts.

He's gone in an instant. He's above the crazy and leading some away.

I take a stance and looks down at my claws, they are glowing dark purple.

"Let's give this a go," I smirk and take my first strike.

Time starts to be irreverent. It's just me and these things. They don't get more than a small hit in here and there. They don't use powers…

Why?

 _'They are warming up.'_ Kai mutters in my head. _'They don't think they can lose, if we take out a few hundred of them, it's just a small loss to them in a long run.'_

 _'Where are you?'_ I demand as I slash one across the chest and it falls to the ground and starts to melt.

I turn my head and see what looks like a tornado of Nether outside the wear house.

 _'You're subtle.'_ I tell him calmly. _'Aren't you worried about that?'_

 _'Anna, right now we need to focus on survival.'_

Kai's presence disappears. He's gone.

A clone's hand lights on fire. He looks at me with these eyes that have a sickening glare.

They are using their powers now… this is bad…

All the clones start to light their hands on fire.

My heart rate speeds up.

"Kai!" I shout. "Kai!"

The clones all come at me. My arm burns. One had grabbed my arm and tightly held on, scorching my skin.

I scream, what else am I supposed to do?

Screaming is all I can do with the burning in my arm.

It's not much later, hardly a second that relief floods my arm. I'm lying on the ground and Omni is sitting over me in full costume.

Hope knows now, Kai told me about the spell. Hope knows that Kai is now in full costume and playing hero, she's on her way.

"Kai, you home?" I ask softly.

Omni doesn't talk. His eyes are white. He's about to go all out. He's about to do something dangerous.

Omni grabs my arm and pulls me away and then opens a huge hole in the ground and throws me down into it.

Then a moment later I hear an explosion.

I look around. Nothing is down here. The machine is fired. The clones are above ground fighting Omni…

I take a moment to catch my breath. What was that explosion?

I run over to the machine and pull my mask up and look at the scraps.

Yes, I can work with this… I can get the door open and get back up there.

I reach out for a piece and look at my hands. There's still Nether all around them, enough to get back up there…

I take a deep breath.

That explosion… Kai…

Please don't be dead…

I pull my mask back over my face and rush to the door.

I slash the lock and force the door open in two pushes.

It looks like a bomb went off…

Omni's lying right where the bomb would have been, the epicenter of the damage. The clones are taking their time to regroup.

"Omni," I mutter.

I rush Omni and grab his wrist and tap into his watch. I flip through and quickly sync it to mine.

Please be ok…

Omni's vitals appear on my screen.

He's breathing. His heart rate is not in dangerous parameters.

But the watch also shows where he's taken blunt damage to.

He'll be ok… Hope's coming.

Hope's coming to get us.

We're going to be grounded.

But… this will be over.

I get up and stand over Omni. The clones are starting to regroup.

My turn, my time to regroup.

It looks like the explosion took out nearly all of them. The place is trashed and there are hardly any clones left.

My turn.

A gunshot echoes in my ears drums and a clone to my side goes down melting to the group.

I look over to see a small figure lying on a crate. A sniper…

"War Shot?" I ask.

"Yeah, it's me." War Shot's voice pops up in my watch. "Saw a tornado and figured I'd check it out."

"Thanks for coming," I say as I claw at the first clone, the strike doesn't feel as powerful.

I look at my hands.

The Nether is gone. My protection is gone.

"What's with Omni?" War Shot asks.

"Don't know," I mutter. "I just got up here."

"Well, I've got tons of bullets; let's just start nailing these guys."

I swing around and kick one's head off. "Hate to inform you, but it doesn't work like that. Omni says that their only weakness is Nether."

"Well, I'm fresh out of whatever you just said. You got any?" War Shot asks as another three bullets fly.

"Fresh out too," I sigh.

"Let's just not get killed." War Shot says before his line goes dead.

The sounds of bullets leaving the gun start to come in groups of about three to six at a time. I just keep kicking, punching, and just keeping these things away from Omni.

"Watch your back!" War Shot shouts at me. I turn to see clones on the ground grabbing Omni.

"Hey!" I shout and rush over. I slash them each in the face. "Get away from him."

It's so small and hard to see, a small chip that looks like an SD card.

"Yeah right, like I'm about to let you get that inside of him," I growl.

I grab the card. "War Shot."

"On it," War Shot confirms.

The clones reach and grab me and I toss the chip in the air. A bullet pierces it easily.

"Thank you." I smile under my mask as I start to beat the clones away from Omni.

Where's Hope?

Omni stirs some. He groans and tries to move.

"War Shot, I need some cover," I call.

"I've got some near me." War Shot replies. "Get him back here so I can cover you."

I grab Omni's arms and start to drag his light body towards the crates.

"White Ti-" Omni mutters.

"Don't talk," I say as I rub at and cut his costume and start to wrap it around a bleeding cut on his arm.

"No, is she here?"

"Who, your sister?" I ask as I work. "No. She's not here."

"Not Hope… worse…" Omni mutters. He leans back and groans as his eyes closed and did not open up again. He's out.

"What's he saying down there?" War Shot asks as three more shots are fired from his position.

"Someone's coming, worse than Spirit," I reply as I tie off the makeshift bandage.

"Who's worse than her?" War Shot asks.

"I don't know," I mutter. "How's it looking up there?"

"I guess better. These guys know where you and Omni are." War Shot reports.

"Omni is their target." I sigh.

"Well, I'm not making much of a scratch on these guys, they are getting back up faster and faster." War Shot yells into our communicator.

I'm about to reply back to him… I don't even know what I was about to say, but a loud screeching cut off everything. The world went dead. The world sat still.

What?

I look down at Omni. He's ok right now. I have a minute to see what's happening.

"White Tiger, we have a new problem. Where do I shoot this thing?" War Shot whispers.

"Shoot what?"

I sneak around and look up and take a look around a large crate door I can't believe it. I don't believe it.

"Don't shoot; if you shoot you will die," I mutter. "War Shot, Eli, do you copy?"

Nothing. No reply…

Oh no…

I stay out of sight. What do I do here? My heart is racing faster and faster. My blood runs freezing cold.

The whole building erupts in a purple flame.

Nether, so much Nether…

Two large eyes make contact with me; two frightening eyes make eye contact.

I close my eyes and I do not even feel my body hit the ground. I just fall, endlessly into sleep.

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and ideas.**

 **A/N: So school has begun... and I may or may not have over booked myself... we'll see how it goes... Just got to get adjusted. Anyway, this story is going to get wrapped up. I already have some ideas about how to end it... so this will be fun.**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218- I know, I'm pretty happy too, because as soon as I finish up this story I can stop worrying about getting it done and start another one. Yay!  
** **What happened to Kai is explained in the next chapter but in the meantime reference NGK Ch 20. Not really a heroic sacrifice... more like uncontrolled... you'll see.  
** **Anyway, there's a twist I know you will not see coming, coming up. So I'll just leave it at that and let you read on. Enjoy!**

 **Nobel Six- Glad you are enjoying it! Hope you like this next chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 26**

* * *

"Mn…" I groan.

"Mornin', sleeping beauty, Anna-Grace Parker," A voice laughs.

"Mmnnn," I complain again.

"Who would have thought? Anna-Grace such a good girl, but here she is getting into so much trouble chasing her boyfriend."

I sit up and look at Eli sitting in a chair next to my hospital bed.

"What?" I ask. "Eli?"

"Omni, your boyfriend," Eli goes on.

"We're not dating," I mutter.

"Whatever, but really, I think I should have seen this coming," Eli sighs. "Anna-Grace, the White Tiger."

"Eli, what do you want?" I growl.

"Well, we're not really allowed to go anywhere. Neither of us has any bad injuries though," Eli reports. "So I've just been sitting here waiting for you to wake up. I would have never put two and two together."

"What about Omni?" I ask.

Well… Eli knows now… He knows who I am…

"He's in the next room over." Eli shrugs. "Someone is in there."

"Oh, so you don't know about his condition?" I ask.

"No, nothing," Eli confirms.

I sit up and throw off my blankets. I'm in sweats and a tank.

My arm is bandaged. I hold it with my hand.

"Yeah, that seems to be the worst injury you got." Eli points.

"I got burned by one of the clones." I sigh. "That happened and I screamed and then Omni… his eyes went white, and he got me out of the way and I heard what sounded like a bomb."

"I heard it from outside, knocked me off my feet. I have no idea about what it was." Eli shrugged. "No one else was with you, right?"

"It was just us two," I confirm.

"What happened? Why did we pass out?" Eli asks watching me as I get off the bed and stretch out.

"I don't know…" I sigh.

"Who was that? Was that Orson?" Eli asked. "That monster that came in from nowhere, that's all I remember."

"Uh…" I sit back down and wrack my brain. "Uh…"

"I didn't think you know either. It's a blur, I just remember the two eyes made eye contact and I passed out." Eli shrugged.

"I don't know what it was. It was dark, all I know is it was really big." I sigh.

We sit there for a minute.

Eli looks around the room and I just wrack my brain to try to remember what happened… What did happen?

"Have you been to see Omni yet?" I ask.

"No, just been in here since I woke up," Eli replies dully.

"We should go see him," I suggest getting up. "I need to know he's ok."

Eli watches me walk to the door of the recovery room, and he follows me outside and into the hallway.

It does not take much to locate Kai.

The medical ward was just about deserted. There was one room with some files in the cubby on the wall; the name was Kai's.

I stood at the door for a minute and then knocked on the door.

It took a minute to get a response.

"Come in."

It was Kai. He's awake, so that's good news.

I open the door quietly and allow myself into the room and Eli slips in after me.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in…"

I look up and instantly jump out of my skin.

A calm, short, and blue figure was sitting in a seat near the other side of Kai's bed. She was wearing Indian clothing, scarf around her elbows, long flowing pants, and a top that reached her knees. Her hair was braided and tucked behind her ears.

"Hey," I mutter quietly, trying to hide the panic in my voice. "What are you doing here?"

Eli is frozen next to me. "Uh…"

He's also in shock.

Kai tried to give a half-smile from where he was, on the bed. He was sitting up and leaning on the bed, he could see everything going on around him. And his expression showed that he was a little uneasy.

He still looked like Omni; white hair, blue eyes, ivory skin. I have to wonder why he looks like this…

"Why wouldn't I be here?" Ryu asked standing up and instantly becoming more menacing than she was sitting down, despite her short posture. "The future-heir of K'un-Lun decided to go AWOL and disobeyed the people who his parents trusted him to. He's been doing 'hero-work' despite having the direct order from the King, himself, to not be doing it. As current-heir, I am here on behalf of my brother."

"What?" Eli asked; his jaw was just about on the floor. He has no idea what Ryu is talking about.

Ryu just smirks at him. "Yes? War Shot? Or is Eli more appropriate? Maybe Mr. Worthington? I'd hate to be on a first name basis if we were not going to do that."

"How do you know my name?" Eli asked shocked and confused

"I have my ways," Ryu smiles, her smile is eviler than anything else. "Anyway, we've not been formally introduced."

Ryu walked around the bed and stood before Eli, it didn't matter that Eli stood a full foot taller than Ryu was. He was scared of her. And honestly, at the moment I was too. She's not human for starters….

Ryu stuck out her hand. "Lady Ryu, the Last Dragon Lord, Dragon Lord of the Night, and heir to the throne of K'un-Lun."

"K'un-what?" Eli asks confused.

"K'un-Lun; The Mystical Heart of the World," Ryu states easily.

"Uh… and you said you're a Dragon Lord?" Eli asks.

Ryu coughs and looks down at her hand. "I'm not going to wait all day," she warns coldly.

Eli carefully places his hand in hers and she shakes it.

"Weak first impression," Ryu shakes her head.

"So, um… Omni…" Eli says taking the attention off of Ryu. "She's…"

"…my aunt," Kai fills in the gap.

"Omni?" Ryu asks, looking at Kai. "Does he really not know who you are?"

"Well, I mean, you look just like that nerd who tutors me, Kai…" Eli trails off. "But I thought you were his twin."

"Omni and Kai; they are the same person," I whisper to him.

"What?" Eli asks. "I thought we all agreed that was impossible."

"You would think so," Kai says looking down at his lap. He closed his eyes and his appearance shifted. White hair grew dark at the roots and then the black traveled down to the tips. His skin tanned gently, and when he opened his eyes they were back to their usual green, not an ice cold blue. "That was the point."

"No way; Kai and Omni were way too different. Omni could kick my butt into the next century, and Kai can't even walk." Eli says.

Ryu laughs to herself and takes a seat back in her chair. "Really? That's your impression of my nephew?"

"I built him a really good prosthetic leg." I brag some. "You can hardly tell when he uses it."

"No way…" Eli mutters.

Kai nods his head. "We are one in the same. I am Omni, and I have Omnikinesis, which is the ultimate form of telekinesis."

Eli shakes his head. "Wow…"

There is a knock at the door and it open.

"Ryu, hate to interrupt," Hope says walking into the room. She closes the door behind her and looked Eli and me over.

She just glares at us. And then she looks at Kai.

Kai shrinks down into the mattress before becoming invisible. His imprint was still visible in the bed.

"Ryu, Coulson has a spare minute now; he wants to talk to you," Hope says calmly.

"Right," Ryu gets up. "Orson."

The dragon got up at the sound of his name.

Ryu took his hand in her hands and placed their foreheads together.

She stroked his head twice and then she pulled back, they held eye contact for a moment before Ryu nodded and then walked to the door where Hope was waiting.

The pair walked out without a word.

"What's she doing here?" I ask the minute the door closes.

Kai reappears. "She's here on behalf of my father."

"I got that much."

Kai takes a deep breath. "She's here to decide my fate. She gets to decide if I get to stay in New York after the stunt I pulled, or if I go back home with her at the end of the week. Whatever she decides, there will be no trying to change her mind."

"So, if she says you go home…"

"I'll be gone," Kai sighs. "I've caused enough trouble. I feel like I've messed around with this world enough."

"So you're saying you think you're going home?" Eli asks leaning on the wall.

"Yes," Kai nods. "Ryu was… devastated when I was MIA. She was very upset when I went home last summer and I was in such bad shape. She's going to want me to go home."

I sigh. "Nothing we can do about that."

Kai sighed also. He watched the ceiling.

I lean back in the chair.

This is the end; Ryu's going to take him home. I think I have her figured out. She's protective. She's not going to let anyone hurt her family.

Hope's a senior in high school, anyway. She's going back to K'un-Lun to get married once she graduates.

Hey, maybe Kai's already got…

I shake my head. I'm getting sidetracked.

"Kai," Eli spoke up.

Kai looked over at him.

"I hope she lets you stay. You are a hero. You don't have to be on the front line to be a hero. You're young. I know you think that being out there and fighting bad guys is all there is to it, so did I about two or three years ago when I was your age." Eli laughed to himself at some memory. "But I think you have reason to stay, you have a gift."

"Ryu could reason that as well, I have a gift I need to be using at home. I need to be taking care of my home, not abandoning it. My responsibilities as the king's only son," Kai sighs.

"You keep getting weirder the more I learn about you." Eli shakes his head.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Look, AG, you may be used to it. You've known Kai for what? A year or something?" Eli asks. "But today I found out that Omni and Kai turn out to have been the same person all along; extremely powerful, from a different dimension, his aunt is blue, something about a 'mystical heart', and then the fact Kai is a prince."

I just give him a nod to agree with him. He's right. I've just been around this weirdness too long to think too much of it.

"Here's to wishing for the best thing for you to happen, whatever that ends up being."

"Agreed," the boys echo quietly.

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and ideas.**

 **A/N: I'm going to go ahead and say that this story is going to only get maybe another three chapters before it's over. I'm happy to finally be finishing and not having this hang over my head. But at the same time, it's a closing chapter for Hope, Kai, Anna, and the rest of the next generation cast for the time being. Because I do not think I will be doing another one of these. Which is kind of sad, but I may pick it up again. I don't know right now. Anyway, I'm going to let you guys dive right on in! Enjoy!**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218 - It was more like a sleep spell from Ryu. Which I know no one was expecting. I'm going to do something fun, Ryu, she stayed in K'un-Lun when the reunion happened. So she hasn't seen her old teammates in the same twenty plus years. So I have some ideas...**

 **I want to do some writing that shows Ryu as an aunt, so that may be in her book, I've only got a little bit of it started. Not much. I don't know when to expect her first chapter to be posted. I'll keep you updated. But Ryu's journey and maturing is a beautiful thing, while not the smoothest thing in the world, the change is drastic and amazing to watch. I want to explore her getting from hating her brother to being an aunt and well respected Dragon Lord.**

 **I'm going to keep my mouth shut about the ending for right now... but just wait, I promise something interesting. Enjoy for now!**

 **Nobel Six - Thank you! Thank you! Enjoy the newest chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 27**

* * *

It's been a few days. Kai's confined to the Medical Wing. He's not actually hurt too badly. But it's the easiest way to keep an eye on him. Everyone is worried about him running off again to do something dumb.

Kai's ok with this. He's just been very calm and cooperative about everything.

Which is strange, at least to me, as far back as I remember; he's as stubborn as a mule.

I walk down the Medical Wing calmly; I've got questions that need to be answered. And if Ryu decides to pull Kai out of the program, then I have to ask them before he leaves.

I hope she lets him stay. He's doing a lot better. It could just be me, he could just be faking, but being around him lately, the mood seems light and easy. It's not tense and depressing.

I stop at the door and listen, it doesn't sound like anyone is there. I hope Ryu isn't there. She's… I just need a minute to talk to Kai alone.

I knock on the door lightly.

It opens and Kai stands there in sweats and a tank top. Both have the SHIELD logo on them, and both are black. His pant leg isn't hanging down, it's folded over his leg and pinned up.

"Hey good to see you out of bed," I smile at him.

"Feels good to be up," he replies. He's leaning on crutches. "Come on in, Ryu's not here."

"Where is she?" I ask.

"I don't know," Kai says as he lets me in and closes the door behind me. "She's been doing stuff; she won't talk to me about her decision."

"What about your mind reading?" I ask. "Telepathy?"

"No," Kai shakes his head. "I try to stay out of people's head. You know that."

"Yeah, but you are in my head quiet a lot," I laugh.

"Well, I am sorry about that, but Ryu is my aunt. She's scary when she wants to be. And her Dragon Lord abilities do make her someone I would rather not anger." Kai says easily as he maneuvers himself back to the bed and sits down. "Have a seat."

I settle down in a spare chair that was near the bed. "So I have a few questions about what happened."

"I figured you would." Kai gives a nod.

"So…" I start. "When I got burned, you turned into Omni and threw me into a hole. What was that for?"

"I panicked." Kai answers, it's so easy, no embarrassment, not emotion, it's just a simple straight forward answer.

"Ok, so explain that some more." I press on.

"While MIA, I discovered that I have the ability to blow myself, like a bomb, and get out of it unscratched. I could feel it coming on and I didn't know how to stop it, so I tried to get you out of the way to keep you from getting hurt. Then I passed out." Kai explains easily.

"You turned into Omni when you came to my aid," I press on. "Why?"

"Oh, I guess I reached for my necklace when I heard you scream, kind without thinking I guess. I didn't mean to do it. And I figured we could not possibly hold them off forever, it was really only a matter of time until Hope found out anyway." Kai shrugged.

"So, how's therapy going?" I change the subject leaning back in the chair, changing the subject quickly.

"Fine," Kai says, he folds up his one leg to sit more comfortably.

"What therapies are you still doing?" I go on.

"Physical and physiological," Kai answers, "same as before."

"How's that going for you?" I ask.

"Pretty good. I'm doing a whole lot better at physical therapy," Kai gives me an honest smile.

"Ok…" I just watch him for a minute.

He's really different. He's almost normal. I don't think I ever remember him to be normal…

It's a little strange but…

It's hard to explain, to put into words…

"So, has anyone else come by here?" I ask.

"Eli has stopped in a few times for tutoring. I think knowing I can fight him with my arms tied behind my back and still win is helping him stay focused and be a little more serious about it." Kai jokes.

"Hey, I don't want this to come across the wrong way, but, you're different." I point out.

"I know, I just feel this huge weight has been taken off me." Kai sighs and smiles to himself. "Ryu described it as having a poison burned out of my system."

I chuckle to myself. "That's actually a really good way to put it. It's true. And it's a good thing too… these past few months you've been so tortured and stuff. And it's hard to see you put yourself through that."

"Well, it's not like it's over," Kai says, kind of softly. "I still have PTSD, just not as bad as before. I still have nightmares. And I could probably still have panic attacks. That stuff doesn't just go away; it's something I have to live with. But… I'm improving."

"Yeah," I mutter more to myself than to Kai. "But hey, you're doing a lot better."

Kai just nods. "So… um… I heard about your punishment…"

Oh, this…

Eli, Kai, and myself; we are all grounded. Eli and I are at the mercy of Hope for three months of training, four days during the school week for up to four hours a day, that's during the week. On Saturday she has us for five to six hours.

This doesn't exclude us from patrols and stuff, but Mom and Dad grounded me again for sneaking out. And until I serve me three months, I can't have the amulet. Dad's been holding it over my head too, he wants to make it longer, but the only way Mom agreed to that was if I acted up to earn more time of hero suspension.

Kai's off the hook from the physical training portion of the punishment. His punishment has not been fully dished out yet. It's pointless if he is leaving at the end of the week. And if he, by some miracle stays, then I guess his punishment will be dealt out then.

"Soreness has already set in," I mutter numbly. "Nothing works to make it go away."

Kai chuckles to himself. "You'll get used to it."

"Three months…" I complain. "I don't know how long I can deal with this grounding."

"It could be worse." Kai points out. "You just have to keep your mouth shut. If you run your mouth off to Hope she can and will double the work load in a heartbeat."

"I know. Eli mouthed off yesterday." I sigh. "We both got our butts handed to us."

Kai just shakes his head. "And to think, she's nowhere as good as my grandfather, uncle, or even our dad. I mean she's really good, but she's seventeen. She's so young compared to the immortal blood in her veins. I bet she could easily have a military career."

"No kidding, she's already got one." I joke.

Kai just smiles and looks around the room.

"So anything you want to talk about?" I ask.

Kai just shakes his head. "Not really. I do however enjoy the company. So thank you."

"Yeah, I bet it gets pretty bad stuck in here." I give the plain room a look around.

"Well, it's fine. I understand the reasoning." Kai sighs.

"So… how's K'un-Lun?" I ask. "I assume that Ryu gave you the full rundown of what's been going on."

"She has," Kai agreed. "My parents are both really upset with me, Mom more so than Dad. I can only imagine what my punishment will be when I go home, wither the end of this week or whenever. They will not let this go. Um, not really that much has been going on. Politics are always interesting. And there's a lot of stuff going on with the council that Dad has to deal with. It's giving him headaches."

"What kind of things?"

"The council is made up of eleven masters, that way when a decision is made there will always be a winning side and losing side," Kai explains. "They are all quite old and a few of them are ready to retire, but before they can retire there has to be a replacement found and trained. And my Dad has to approve of the new candidate and there's just a ton of work that goes into it. Not all the masters have an apprentice who could replace them. It's just a lot of long and difficult processes."

"I guess that's kind of a normal thing," I comment.

"Yeah," Kai sighs. "Ryu has hinted about taking me home to meet them if I'm going to succeed my father, but I don't know if she is joking. She likely isn't."

"Well, her decision is her decision." I shrug.

"So…" Kai sighed. "How's school?"

"Boring, you've missed a lot of it, but you're smart. You can make the work up no sweat." I shrug.

We sit there in silence for a while.

"I swear I'm getting cabin fever." Kai leans back down on the bed and looks up at the ceiling. "I want to leave so badly."

"Well, you just need to rest for right now." I remind him.

"I'm fine, Anna, I'm not hurt too badly. I've had much worse, and I'm not even on medication right now." Kai points out. "They just want me here to keep an eye on me."

"Well…" I was cut off by a swinging door and Ryu walking in, wearing sweats and a tank top, both were SHIELD issued.

"What's going on in here?" She asked almost coldly.

Kai sat up. "Anna is keeping me company. We were just talking about school."

Ryu nods her head carefully, her eyes were thinking. "Alright."

"Do I need to go?" I ask slowly. I feel uncomfortable.

Ryu looks at me for a second. "That Smith girl is looking for you, so you better go."

"Smith?" I ask myself. "Oh, Sabrina."

I get out of the chair and walk past Ryu and out of the room quickly.

If I need to find Sabrina she'll likely be around the rooms that the teams use, or maybe in Dad's lab.

"Anna!" A voice spooks me.

I turn around and I see Sabrina running up from behind me. "I figured you'd be down here visiting your boyfriend."

"Not my boyfriend." I correct her.

"What, I thought you two were doing this dating-not-dating?" Sabina asked.

"No, that's over."

"When?" Sabrina asked. "I don't remember telling my IRL OTP that they could break my heart."

I shrug, "I guess it was when we sent back to K'un-Lun maybe?"

"Like I believe that," Sabrina says easily.

"What were you looking for me for?" I ask.

"Paperwork," Sabrina sighs heavily dropping a file in my arms. "I need this ASAP. It is mission reports and what not about what you saw and what happened when you and Kai went AWOL."

"Is that what the higher-ups are calling what happened?" I ask, slighting annoyed.

"Yup," Sabrina says. "So you are single as a Pringle now, aren't you?"

"Quit it," I warn.

"Alright, alright," Sabrina sighs. "As cute and prefect as you and Kai may appear on the outside, there's too much stuff under the surface for you two to work."

"Are you trying to make me feel better?" I ask. "Cuz, I was over it. I've been pretty over it for a while."

"No, just doing some commentary," Sabrina says casually.

"Thanks," I deadpan.

"Anyway, I need this paperwork back, ASAP. And Hope's not training you today, she's got something else to do, so you get a day of blessed rest." Sabrina says as she looks down at her watch. "Well, gotta run… see ya!"

I roll my eyes. She's crazy.

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and ideas.**

 **A/N: Ok, Thanksgiving break goals: finish writing this story. Status: I'm working on it, but getting close. Anyway, it's been a while since I've worked on this story, and the Next Generation Series as a whole is starting to finally wrap up and come to a close. And I'm pretty happy to see that. It will finally be done and I can hopefully dedicate so free time to a new work. The next story I want to write is Ryu's book. But I also have to find time to finish Together As One (updating soon).**  
 **To all my faithful readers! Enjoy this chapter!**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218 - AP don't get me started. For some reason, I thought loading myself up with AP classes would be a good idea. So half of my classes are killing me. But the deal is, it was AP or regular, and regular classes mixed in with people who really don't want to be at school is really just... I've been there and done that and sworn to never take a regular class again, for my mental sanities sake. I digress!**  
 **So Kai and Anna have dissolved, but I think you may know what I have coming up. Kai is a protector. That's just how he rolls.**  
 **Eli continues to make things worse, Ryu, and a surprise blast to the past with a surprise appearance and references to Neon. I think I have you interested now! So go enjoy!**

 **Nobel Six - Thanks for your continued support! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 28**

* * *

"Where are you going?" I ask sharply.

Eli jumps and turns to see me standing right next to him.

He backs into a table. "I was going to get some fresh air. What's it matter to you?" He challenges.

"We have training with Hope. There's no way I'm going to let you skip because the punishment just gets worse for both of us after that." I inform Eli, grabbing him by the arm. "You are coming with me."

Eli mutters something under his breath.

"Sorry, but I'm not letting you get me into more trouble," I inform him as I drag him along the hallways. "I'm trying to get these three months over with as soon as possible."

"Three months is three months unless you can manipulate time, which you can't. This punishment is going to be gruesome and hurt." Eli complains.

He pauses for a minute. "Speaking of manipulation how's Kai?"

"I haven't been to talk to him in a few days. I think he's leaving tomorrow." I shrug. "Not much we can do about it. Just got to let it happen I guess."

"His aunt or whoever she is still freaking me out, she's blue! She has a tail! She's got wings!" Eli shivers.

"Ryu is a Dragon Lord. And don't let her hear you; she'll tear you to pieces." I warn him.

"OK, can you let go of me?" Eli asks. "You don't have to drag me like a child."

I look up at him and make eye contact. "I think I have to, you're uncooperative."

Eli groans. "Come on, AG. You're going to hurt my arm."

"No." I snap at him. "I'm going to drag you the entire way there because I don't trust you to not run away from this."

Eli only groans. "Ugh, you're not my girlfriend. Why do you care so much where I am and where I'm not?"

My face heats up quickly. I turn sharply on my heels and face him.

"Now you listen here you little brat!" I shout at him.

It's too late; Eli's already taken off down the hallways.

"Physiological warfare!" Eli shouts back at me.

"Brat! Like you'll ever get a girlfriend!" I yell back.

"Don't go saying that." A voice startles me.

Ryu had appeared right beside me. "You'll end up dating him."

"Yeah right," I agreed sarcastically.

"Hey, when I first came to shield I couldn't stand hardly anyone. And one of the most annoying people I had to put up with ended up being my first real kiss." Ryu shrugs.

"Who?" I ask quickly.

"Like I'd ever tell you." Ryu crosses her arms with a chuckle. "That's none of your beeswaxes."

"Well, there goes getting on Hope's good side tonight," I mutter. "Eli's already long gone, isn't he?"

Ryu bites her bottom lip. "Well, I'll help you out."

She holds her hand up to the ceiling and a black and purple portal starts to open and grow larger and larger.

As soon as it really opens, Eli falls through, face first onto the floor. "Hey!"

He jumps up instantly and brushes himself off. "What was that for-"

He looks us over and pales. "Oh, hi."

I smile and shake my head. "Lovely."

"You're not a good escape artist," Ryu informs him easily.

"Yeah, well, I never thought I'd have to worry about some dumb portal opening under my feet."

"Expect the unexpected," Ryu says calmly. "Never get too confident that you're free. Come one, this is basic cat and mouse. It's a common training practice in K'un-Lun, Danny says he's done it at least 5 times, and he never been captured."

Eli just looks at her and cocks and eyebrow. "Almost sounds fun."

"In K'un-Lun, a single warrior will get sent out with only a little head start and he has to survive for a full day without getting caught. There's no out of bounds, except you can't trespass on private property or seek to protect in a private house." Ryu explains. "While they are trying to stay hidden, a group is sent out to capture the solo warrior. It doesn't count as a win unless you capture. So you can fight back, but if they catch you, they win."

"That sounds nerve-wracking," I admit. "I would hate to be the one getting chased."

Eli just shrugs. "That's because you'd get caught. I bet I could do it."

"No, you couldn't." Ryu laughs. "It's cute you think you could win though."

"Who's this Danny guy that you've said has done it?" Eli asks casually.

"Uh, you don't get to call him just 'Danny,'" Ryu informed Eli quickly, "because he is my brother, Kai and Hope's father, the Iron Fist, and King of K'un-Lun."

"Oh excuse me." Eli holds his hands up in surrender.

Ryu sighs. "Aren't you too late for something?"

I look down at my watch. "Oh great!" I push past Ryu and take off down the hallway.

The ground seems to give out from under me as I fall through the floor and land in the training room.

"Metal!" Ryu shouts as she jumps off the ground and pumps her wings to keep herself from touching it. "Ouch! Dragon bones why is this place made of metal, it's a death trap!"

"Ryu?" I look over to see who said her name and Sam is standing right there looking quite surprised. "I didn't know you were in New York."

"Yeah, well, Danny couldn't come and Aiko wasn't exactly in a position to either, so here I am," Ryu mutters. "And somebody can't follow orders."

Sam's eyes think for a minute. "Kai?" He guesses.

"So you've heard?" Ryu asks.

"Yeah, Piper's been keeping me up to date on what goes on around here." Sam shrugs.

His attention is focused on Ryu's tail, the underside of it specifically, which was glowing a hot pink. "Hey, do you want to go get that burn taken care of and go catch up?"

Ryu grins. "Sure."

She quickly shifts into a small lap size dragon and then lands herself on Sam's shoulder. He's just wearing loose fit clouting, not his uniform which I would have guessed would be painful for her.

"Have fun with Hope, Anna." Sam smiles as he walks out.

"Thanks." I grumble.

"Who's that guy? Piper's dad?" Eli asks.

"Yeah," I shrug, "one of the original heroes from when my dad started this program."

"He looks pretty human to me," Eli mutters.

"That's cuz I'm pretty sure he is human," I mutter.

"Oh," Eli mutters.

Hope's already here, on the other side of the arena with… Kai.

I didn't know he was allowed out of the infirmary, I thought he was going to be held there until he was taken home.

He's doing something with Hope that looks like a martial art form.

And it's not pretty; he's stumbling over every other move he makes. One leg is bending at the knee and the other is perfectly straight and in the way.

His arms are out in front of him for balance, and as he moves his legs he nearly falls over.

Hope just gives him a nod and he moves on to the next move and then falls face first into his sister, who easily catches him.

She picks up her brother easily and put him down in his wheelchair that was only a few feet away.

"You two are late." Hope comments.

That's our cue that we can walk up to them.

"Sorry." I apologize quickly.

"I didn't want to come," Eli admits.

"Well, next time you think going AWOL is a good idea, remember this," Hope says easily. "I'll give you a few minutes to stretch and get a drink of water and then we will begin."

Hope walks over to the side of the room where her bag is and pulls out her phone and her water bottle.

I look over at Kai. "What were you practicing?"

Kai looks up at me. "Tai Chi."

"Cool, what's it for?" I ask.

"It's supposed to be really good for just resetting the balance of things in the body. So I'm giving it a try." Kai admits. "It's not easy."

"Well, not everything is when you try it the first time." I smile. "Come on, you're not perfect at everything the first time you try it. That's how life is."

Kai leans back in his chair. "Shouldn't you be warming up like Hope suggested?"

I sigh as I bend up knee, balancing on one leg with my foot in my hand. "What's bothering you about it?"

"There are ways to practice Tai Chi while sitting in a chair. And that's what Hope suggested I try first." Kai sighed. "I'm too stubborn to do that though, and there are a lot of leg motions in Tai Chi I can't do."

"What about that nice prosthetic I made you?" I suggest.

"I'm not using that anymore. I'm just going to use this one." Kai looks down at his legs.

"Have you talked to Ryu?" I ask switching legs.

"No," Kai shakes his head. "She doesn't exactly want to talk about it."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Kai dismisses it.

"Do you want to stay or what?" I ask.

"I won't mind getting to stay. There's a lot here for me to do. But on the other hand… it does not matter what I think. It just matters what Ryu thinks."

"She'll make the best choice." I smile.

Kai nods his head. "You should actually warm up now, and stop talking to me, or you'll hurt yourself today."

He adjusts himself so his hands are on the wheels of his wheelchair.

"And where are you going?" I ask.

"I'm going to lie down and get some sleep," Kai says easily. "I'll make sure to see you again before I leave."

"Hey, how about the ice cream place I took you too when you first started living in New York?" I ask. "You want to go since tomorrow is Saturday?"

Kai smiles at me. "Yes, that would be nice. You can text me later to make plans."

"Sure." I smile. "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**


	29. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer: I only own what is mine. My OCs and ideas.**

 **A/N: Ah, one more chapter and then an epilogue and we will be done with this story. To be honest, I'm a little sad to see the Next Generation series come to a close, because I don't want to see it end, but I will be happy when it is no longer being hung over my head. So with the close of this book, I will be taking some time and preparing Ryu's story and get a few chapters started before I post the first one, just to get some direction going. I have a great idea about how to start and where to end, but the middle part is where I am unsure. But the ending is huge! I promise, so just hang out for a little while and we will see where that goes. Um... so let's get on to this chapter. Enjoy!**

 **Reviews:**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218 - So with the ending of this chapter it seems to steer away from the beginning... I don't know. It's good.**  
 **Oh, my AP load, um, I'm doing good. Durning Midterms I survived, GPA still intact and all. I'm doing ok, just thought to mention that! Yeah, let's move on from such depressing topics... shall we?**  
 **Oh, Kai has something to say about boyfriend/girlfriendhood. Just wait. And some references back to Neon (wow, so long ago). I don't think Sam, or anyone, could really ever forget Ryu; she is half dragon and blue!**  
 **Alright, so let's get to the next chapter.**

 **Nobel Six - Thanks as always for the continued support. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 29**

* * *

"So, you ready to go?" I ask as Kai walks into the SHIELD garage.

"Yes," Kai nods his head.

He's dressed casually and has Orson leashed up by his side.

"Good to see you on your feet. No wheelchair today?" I ask.

Kai shakes his head. "No, I figured we will be sitting down most of the time we are out anyway."

"Fair enough," I agree. I get on my bike and start the engine up. "Get yourself situated."

Kai climbs into the sidecar and pats his lap, Orson jumps in after him and settles down in the floorboard where there is more than enough room for him.

"Ready to get going?" I ask.

Kai nods his head. "Let's get going."

* * *

The drive was pretty quiet. Traffic was nice only took us ten minutes to get there.

Went through the drive-through and the parked the bike in the small parking lot and sat on the curb to eat our ice cream.

"Have you spoken to Ryu yet?" I ask.

"No, we're both avoiding it. She said we could talk tonight over dinner. She's said she needs to meditate on a few things, which is a little unlike her." Kai shrugs.

"She's not really into meditating?" I ask.

"Well, she meditates, just not a whole lot." Kai shrugs. "But we're apparently going to talk about this over dinner, so that gives me something to look forward to. I don't want to have some big conversation about this, but if that's what Ryu wants to do, I guess we're having a conversation."

"That's going to be a stressful conversation by the sounds of it." I sigh.

"Well, nothing I can do about that. Ryu has this way of working herself up without much assistance." Kai takes a bit of his cone and then offers the plain vanilla one we got to Orson.

Ryu's crazy. That's what Kai is saying, isn't it? How do I ask that without sounding rude or anything?

"So, she's kind of crazy?" I ask.

"I would never say that," Kai says easily. "Why do you ask?"

I knew he would catch on.

"Eh, I was talking to her the other day and she mentioned something," I mutter.

"What?" Kai asked.

"She was telling me about when she was in the SHIELD program." I begin. "Does she ever tell you about that kind of thing?"

"Yes, I've heard most of the good stories, either from my parents or from Ryu, herself." Kai agrees. "What was she telling you about?"

"This is going to be strange since you know, you guys in K'un-Lun are really strict. But she mentioned her first kiss." I make a face as I wait for Kai's reaction.

"Hm, yeah. I've heard that one." He grins. "Why did she bring that up?"

"Eli was trying to ditch training, and he said some stuff to get in my head so that he could get away from me. And then Ryu showed up." I'm trying to be vague.

"What did he say that would make Ryu bring up her first kiss?" Kai asks as he watches Orson finish his cone. He turns his attention back to his own and takes another bite.

"Uh… Eli called me his girlfriend to mess with my head. And then… I was yelling at him telling him he would never get a girlfriend. And then Ryu stumbled upon us." I admit.

Kai only laughs. "I heard about this last night over dinner with Ryu."

"Oh…" I mutter. "Well, he's a pain in the butt."

"You know…" Kai shrugs. "Sometimes people just are. And you have to deal with it."

"I guess," I mutter.

"Ryu commented that she believes you and Eli will date while in High School," Kai says almost as if he is not thinking. "She said you have this… I can't translate what she said."

Kai makes this face. "I don't think there is an English word that fits what I want to say."

"What?" I ask.

"Yú shuǐ qíng," Kai mutters. He looks up at me. "Let me try All-Speak."

He takes a breath. " _ **Fish and Water**_."

I can't help but laugh.

"What did you hear?" Kai asks.

"Fish and Water," I repeat. "Wow, no offense but that sounds dumb."

Kai looks detached like he is thinking. "Fish and Water."

He nods his head. "I guess that's right. The right English translation."

"So can you put that into English?" I ask.

"The fish needs the water. It is a metaphor for…?" Kai sighs. "It's a metaphor that is used to talk about a couple's relationship."

"Is it a good thing?" I ask.

Kai nods his head. "It is good."

"I guess I have to take your word for it because I only know a few words in Chinese." I sigh as I lick my ice cream.

"Anna, I agree with Ryu that you and Eli will likely date at some point," Kai admits. "And if you do or don't stay together it does not matter, the metaphor will still remain true; a natural harmonious relationship."

"Can we change the subject from that jerk?" I ask.

Kai looks at me with a grin. "Would you like to know something my family says a lot?"

"Uh…" where is he going with this? "Sure." I agree.

"Huā yǒu chóng kāi rì, rén wú zài shào nián." Kai's Chinese is beautiful and rolls off his tongue so easily.

"And what might that mean?" I ask.

"While not a direct translation, it means; 'a flower may bloom again, but one cannot be young again.'" Kai grins at me. "You need to quit worrying about life and just enjoy it; we're not going to be young forever."

I just nod my head and go back to my cone.

I check on Orson, who had finished his.

No one is really around right now, this neighborhood has seen better days, I really ought to stop coming out here. But it's kind of peaceful in its own way.

The occasional car goes by. People occasionally walk by.

This sure isn't time square. And I think that's what is so appealing about this place.

"Hey, Kai, you never told me who Ryu's first kiss was." I point out to him.

"Did you want to know?" Kai asks.

"Kind of, I mean. She said he was really annoying and stuff. I'm curious. Can you blame me?"

Kai just nods his head. "She said his name was Sam. So I'm guessing she means Mr. Alexander?"

"Sam?" I ask.

I can't help but start to giggle. "Sam was Ryu's first kiss?"

"I believe so." Kai agrees.

"Wow…" I sigh. "Do you know the story?"

Kai thinks about it. "It was the day that my parents and Ryu were leaving the program. And from what I was told, it was Ryu who kissed him first. She's not really a fan of telling the story. Hope asked about it once when we were little. And mom and dad told us the story and Ryu just kept interrupting."

"Sounds like it's something she gets flustered about." I smile.

"It was." Kai agrees.

"I'm ready to head back home." I stand up. "Are you ready to go?"

"I have one request before we head home. I promised Ryu I'd bring something home to eat. So can we run to the store?" Kai asks.

"Sure." I climb up onto my motorcycle and get the engine started. "Climb in. Did you have a certain place in mind or just any store is good?"

"There is an Asian Market about 15 minutes from here that Hope and I usually go too. It's a nice place." Kai settled down into the sidecar with Orson.

"Sure, you know how to get there, right?" I check.

Kai nods. "Of course, I know, I've been there quite a bit this past year."

* * *

"Ok, last stop," I announce parking the bike. "What do we need?"

I walk over and hold Orson's leash as Kai carefully gets out of his seat and adjusts to his crutches.

"Well, I was thinking we would have Mongolian Beef Ramen with some Moo Goo Gai Pan." Kai shrugged. "I guess that will be fine."

"Sounds like a lot," I comment.

Kai thinks about it for a minute. "It will all get eaten, eventually."

Upon walking in I felt like I was back in K'un-Lun, except the effect wasn't as magical. The place had a strong aroma that was hard to describe, other than it was Asian food. The place was wide open and Kai walked right in and handed me a basket.

"Are you coming?" Kai asks.

"Uh, yeah," I quickly follow him as he wastes no time knowing exactly where we are going.

"So who is going to cook all of this, you or Ryu?" I ask as Kai turns down an aisle.

"Me," Kai points out bluntly. "Ryu can't cook toast to save her life."

"She can't?" I ask.

Kai nods his head. "She can't touch metal; which is the most common material for pots and pans. Plus, she's never been in a position where she needed to cook for herself. Before moving to K'un-Lun, she lived with Dr. Strange and he or Wong would cook, or she would order take out. Once she came home, she didn't ever have to worry about where her next meal was coming from."

"I guess that makes sense, living in the palace you have cooks who take care of you." I agree.

Kai laughs. "They are the most outspoken people in the palace. They don't let anyone in there to cook their own food, because 'they will make a mess' or something. You can't really even go in there for a snack; you have to ask them to give you one."

"Wow, kind of harsh, don't you think?" I ask.

"I suppose. But according to mom, dad, and Ryu, they've greatly mellowed over the years." Kai goes on explaining. "Apparently when my dad first took the throne they would get really upset with him if he skipped a meal, which happened often because he would lose track of time in his office."

"Wow," I shake my head.

Kai picks up some ramen off the shelf and puts it into the basket.

He moves down the aisle a little further and clicks his tongue, "Orson, this one." He points to a can with his crutch.

Orson retrieves it quickly.

"What's that?" I ask him confused.

"Canned Bamboo Shoots," Kai say places it in the basket and motioning Orson to another can. "Orson, this one."

"You can eat bamboo? I didn't know that."

"Certain kinds, yes," Kai says putting the next can in the basket.

"Hey, if you end up staying, you have to cook me something like this, it sounds good." I request. "I'm curious."

Kai just looks at me for a second. "Ok." He agrees. "Sure. I just have to survive Ryu's tongue lashing tonight."

"She loves you," I assure him. "You'll be fine. Doesn't hurt to butter her up with food though, right?"

"I'm not 'buttering her up.'" Kai mutters watching the shelf as he looks for something else. "That's next to impossible to do."

* * *

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